An investigation led by Poland and published by the newspaper The Wall Street Journallast week, revealed that Russia created a spy recruitment network to operate discreetly across Europe.
According to information obtained by Polish authorities, Moscow recruited marginalized young people, mainly immigrants, on chat applications, such as Telegram, to carry out sabotage and surveillance “missions” within European countries. In total, 15 individuals have already been discovered to have been recruited by the Russian spy service since last year.
In Poland alone, there are nine people detained on this suspicion. Prime Minister Donald Tusk told the broadcaster TVN24 that the acts even included “beatings, arson and attempts to set fire to places”. Among those involved in the investigations are Ukrainian and Belarusian refugees.
One of the most high-profile cases used as evidence of Moscow’s action is that of Maxim Leha, a 22-year-old refugee who became involved in the alleged Russian spy network after accepting a job offer on a messaging app.
Initially, he was called upon for the simple task of painting graffiti on streets in Poland. Afterwards, the actions gained greater relevance, for example with an order to install cameras on strategic railway lines in the country.
In a prison in the Polish city of Lublin, Leha confirmed that he accepted job offers on the applications, however he claimed that he did not initially suspect their true nature. “It was easy money,” he said. In addition to the refugee, 14 other young people face trials in this regard.
The tactic used by Moscow is one of the Kremlin’s latest efforts to circumvent the security of these countries, especially when many of them have expelled Russian diplomats – more than 600 have already had to leave their embassies due to accusations of espionage.
Marginalized young people living in European countries, often without links to governments, emerge as ideal figures to carry out tasks that, although critical for Putin’s regime, do not require specialized skills.
Poland and its Western allies consider the initiative a cheap and low-risk strategy for the Kremlin, allowing Moscow to gather crucial information with minimal investment and exposure.
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