Russia recruits "disposable agents" in Europe, dozens have already been exposed – foreign intelligence

After the exposure of Russian spies operating under diplomatic cover, Moscow is recruiting "disposable agents" from among civilians in Europe. This was reported by Foreign Intelligence Service.

Since the beginning of the full-scale war, European intelligence services have expelled about 700 Russian spies who were operating under the cover of diplomatic missions. The largest purges took place in Bulgaria, where 82 Russians were given persona non grata status. In Germany, 65 people were expelled, in Poland – 58, in Romania – 52, in Slovakia – 39, in the Netherlands and Slovenia – 34 each.

After the loss of the network under diplomatic cover, the aggressor state's intelligence services switched to recruiting "disposable agents" from among civilians in Europe.

There have been 47 cases of accusations of spying for Moscow in Poland, 20 in Estonia, 19 in Latvia, 12 in Germany, and 10 in the United Kingdom. In total, 130 people in 12 European countries have been suspected of working for Russia.

Russians use social media, church communities, sports clubs, and public events to recruit potential perpetrators. These people are usually recruited only once, to obtain information or perform certain tasks. This is part of the Kremlin's hybrid strategy to undermine European security.

• In February, the WSJ wrote that Russia's spy services have a new shadowy unit that targets the West and conducts covert attacks across Europe and elsewhere.
• Journalist Grozev said that Russia has changed its tactics abroad after a series of exposures of its spies and expulsions of diplomats.