Russian Spy Network Found In The UK
Russians disguised as Ukrainian refugees made their way into the UK
The main news has been reports of suspected Russian spies in the UK, and other European countries, and while it isn’t new, it comes at a time where the war in Ukraine relies on intelligence. In the UK, so far, there are three suspects who were detained back in February and who had entered the UK from Bulgaria using false documents.
This is one of the problems the EU free movement had as documents could be falsified and as there are less rigorous checks, it made it easier for people to settle in EU countries for the purpose of espionage. Under the homes for Ukrainians scheme, there have also been some spies who posed as refugees and who have settled in the UK.
If we look at Ukraine, the invasion occurred primarily due to corruption in the country and because pro-Kremlin spies had been planted inside the government for a number of years. This is another reason why NATO can’t be too relaxed and wait for provocation because the sleeper agents are already activated by the looks of things. By planting spies in NATO countries, it enables the Russians to monitor NATO strategies
Day 536 (August 13)
In Luhansk, the SBU have been investigating the organisation of the sham elections, and that 15 Ukrainians have been behind the illegal elections.
The Black Sea grain deal is at a standstill, but Russia has lied about firing warning shots at vessels in the Black Sea. They claim that a patrol boat had fired warning shots only after the cargo ship Sukru Oran didn’t respond to a request for inspection.
Reports claim that the identities of the Russian commanders who were in charge of the Odesa strikes in July (19 and 23) have been identified. As the area is a UNESCO heritage site, these could be considered war crimes
Day 537 (August 14)
More corruption from within, as a former SBU employee, Major General Valeriy Shaitanov was found guilty of high treason and was sentenced to 12 years in prison. He was a head of a special ops team in Ukraine, but was discovered to have been in contact with the Russian FSB handler under the name ‘Bobyl’ who was FSB Colonel Igor Yegorov. As you can see, the invasion had been planned for a considerable time and people had been planted in various key areas. That is what appears to be happening across Europe with pro-Kremlin spies posing as Ukrainian refugees and migrants from Belarus crossing into NATO countries.
Shaitanov was recruited in 2014 when the war in the Donbas began, and Yegorov visited the region to form alliances at the time. So we can see that this invasion sparked from the annexation of Crimea and the war in Donbas and that spies had been in play prior to the invasion of Crimea and their presence increased.
Zelenskyy visited 7 brigades today to boost morale in Donetsk, and to listen to the issues that the troops are having such as ammunition supplies, and what equipment is needed.
The German company Rheinmetall has announced it will have the Luna drone system ready for use in Ukraine in 2023. It is a new reconnaissance drone, and perhaps it has been announced as a warning to Russia?
Norway is sending Ukraine anti-drone systems after a contract with the Kongsberg Defence and Aerospace Group was signed. They will provide Ukraine with C-UAS air defence systems and funding will come from the International Fund for Ukraine, which means that Ukraine will purchase these and they could use them on Russian soil if necessary. For example, if missiles are launched from Russia, then they can intercept them in Russia without violating agreements with the allies who have supplied them with weapons that cannot be used on Russian soil.
Day 538 (August 15)
Three suspected Russian spies were revealed to be Bulgarians and were arrested under the Official Secrets Act. Orlin Rousseau of Great Yarmouth was living in a guest house, and Katrin Ivanova and Bizer Dzhambazov (couple) were living in Harrow. All had multiple documents and identity cards for Spain, Croatia, Slovenia, Greece, France, Bulgaria, Italy and the Czech Republic. All moved to the UK about a decade ago when there was free movement in the EU. The UK, since Brexit no longer permits free movement but those already here could apply to remain.
The three were detained in February and will go on trial in January 2024, but have not entered any pleas as yet. According to investigations, the couple were politically active in helping Bulgarians abroad to vote in elections.
The Chechen leader, Ramazan Kadyrov is trying to promote himself as a loyalist to Putin by publicising his troops in Zaporizhzhia.
The Russian Central Bank has raised interest rates to 12% to prop up the weak rouble, and to try and halt the decline of the currency.
The State Security in Latvia have reported that Wagner had been recruiting people to join the mercenary outfit, with direct and indirect invitations online.
Russia has made further attempts to cross the border into Chernihiv in Ukraine. Ukraine is using thermal imaging to help detect the groups that try to cross over the border through the forests. Reports of shots were fired and there were injuries and possible deaths. Ukrainians are trying to protect their large borders, but the Russians do not appear to seek peace and continue to attack and advance, seeking to occupy more regions in Ukraine.
Day 539 (August 16)
Russia is preparing to create more propaganda videos to gain support in Russia. This may include staged videos of defeats in occupied areas to contradict the counteroffensive made by Ukraine in areas such as Kherson.
The battles in Bakhmut continue and Ukraine gains 3km a day and liberated Urozhaine in Donetsk, and continue their counteroffensive in Melitopol and Berdiansk.
North Macedonia is the 15th country to join the G7 declaration of support for security guarantees for Ukraine.
Latvia, like Poland and Lithuania are increasing the number of guards at the borders with Belarus, due to the Wagner threat and increased activity and action at the borders.
The first vessel to leave Odesa since 16 July 2023 was the JOSEPH SCHULTE (Hong Kong flag) cargo vessel that is carrying 30k tons of grain. The vessel had been in Odesa since February 23, 2022 and is sailing through the civilian corridor of the Black Sea, as the corridor is to be used to evacuate vessels stuck in the ports before the invasion began on 24 February 2022.
The European Commission has decided not to transfer €135 million to Russia and Belarus under the European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument and will transfer it to Ukraine Moldova instead.
Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms, Elisa Ferreira said: “The decision to cancel the originally envisaged cooperation with Russia and Belarus through our Interreg programmes is the result of the brutal war of Russia against Ukraine. I am glad that the funds we had initially planned for this cooperation will now benefit the EU's programmes with Ukraine and Moldova. This will help strengthen collaboration between EU regions and local stakeholders with Ukrainian and Moldovan partners.”
Following the Russian military aggression against Ukraine and in line with the measures adopted by the EU, in March 2022, the Commission had initially suspended cooperation with Russia and its ally Belarus in Interreg programmes. This led to €26 millionEN••• being redistributed to support cooperation programmes with Ukraine and Moldova. This decision redistributes the remaining funding from the 2021-2027 period in the same manner.