Latest news with #RussianSpies
New York Times
a day ago
- New York Times
Our Favorite Books for Every Type of Dad
For the dad who's still talking about 'The Americans' finale Walker's fascinating and meticulously researched book details a century-long Russian project to infiltrate Western society by planting deep-cover spies — or 'illegals' — to live for decades under false American identities in places like Hoboken, N.J. The program began in 1922, when Lenin was still pacing the Kremlin corridors, and continues today under Putin, who has seldom met a Soviet relic he didn't want to polish up. Read our review. Also consider: 'The Determined Spy: The Turbulent Life and Times of CIA Pioneer Frank Wisner,' by Douglas Waller; 'Watching the Jackals: Prague's Covert Liaisons With Cold War Terrorists and Revolutionaries,' by Daniela Richterova; 'The Torqued Man,' by Peter Mann For the dad who loves thrillers Pavone is the author of five previous books, literary thrillers characterized by elegant writing and intricate plotting. This is something bigger in tone and ambition. While a mystery hums beneath the narrative — we know from the early pages that somebody won't make it out alive — 'The Doorman' is better read as a state-of-the-city novel, a kaleidoscopic portrait of New York at a singularly strange moment. Read our review. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
The Sun
5 days ago
- General
- The Sun
Young Ukrainian soldier dies at UK military barracks as MoD issues statement over ‘immensely sad' tragedy
A UKRAINIAN soldier has been found dead at a training base in the UK. The unnamed recruit was discovered at a barracks in East Anglia on Wednesday night. 1 Emergency services raced to the scene but were unable to resuscitate him. The Sun understands the death is not being treated as suspicious. The man, believed to be in his mid-20s, was discovered by comrades at around 8pm in a room used to dry wet clothes. Civilian police and paramedics attended but he was pronounced dead at the scene. The man, believed to be in his mid-20s, was one of over 50,000 Ukrainian soldiers who have been trained in the UK, as part of Operation Interflex, to defend their country against Russia. The troops learn infantry tactics, trench warfare and how to defend themselves from drones in an intense five week course. The Sun has not revealed the location of the camp as some bases used to train Ukrainian troops have been targeted by Russian spies. A Ministry of Defence spokesperson said: 'It is with immense sadness that we can confirm the death of a Ukrainian soldier in the UK on June 4, 2025."
New York Times
22-05-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
As the Soviet Union Fell, Did the K.G.B. Leave a Gift in Brazil for Today's Spies?
As federal police agents unraveled a Kremlin spying operation in Brazil, they confronted a mystery: How had so many deep-cover Russian spies managed to obtain seemingly authentic Brazilian birth certificates? The police expected to find that the Russians had forged the documents or bribed municipal officials to create them and slip them into the registry as if they were from the 1980s and '90s. But when the forensic report came back in April, according to a senior Brazilian official, the analysis suggested something else entirely. The documents did not appear forged. And, most surprising, they weren't even new. Brazilian counterintelligence officers are now considering a more audacious possibility, one with echoes of the Cold War. Investigators suspect that K.G.B. officers, working undercover in Brazil during the last years of the Soviet Union, may have filed birth certificates in the names of fictitious newborns — hoping that a future generation of spies would someday claim them and continue the fight against the West. If true, it would represent an extraordinary level of foresight and mission commitment by intelligence officers during a time of great upheaval and unpredictability in the world. By the late 1980s, the Communist bloc had begun to crumble, along with the ideological divisions that had defined global politics — and the mission of Moscow's spies — for decades. Almost overnight, the K.G.B., once an unparalleled force in global affairs, was deprived of its central purpose, conflict with the West, and would soon be disbanded entirely. But such forward thinking would align with the culture of Russian espionage, which, unlike in the West, often prizes creative long-term planning over immediate expediency. And in a country that is uniquely committed to placing officers in deep-cover assignments, obtaining birth certificates has long been a priority. 'It's just the sort of thing that they would do,' said Edward Lucas, a British author and expert on the Russian intelligence services. 'It fits with the meticulous and generational attention that they devote to creating these identities.' Nonetheless, in interviews, intelligence experts and officials with several Western intelligence services could point to no other similar example in the history of Russian espionage. Some expressed skepticism about the hypothesis. Even the Brazilian investigators themselves are still unsure what to make of the findings of their forensic analysis. The investigation continues. Brazilian courts have ordered that the birth certificates of the Russians suspected of operating as deep-cover operatives be kept secret, so The Times could not independently analyze them. Creating a convincing cover identity is perhaps a spy's most important job. For Russia's elite deep-cover operatives, known as illegals, an airtight back story can mean be the difference between a heroic career and total failure. Unlike in the West, where intelligence officers may adopt fake identities for particular missions or tours of duty, these spies are meant to live their covers, often for decades. Through their investigation, the Brazilian authorities disrupted what was essentially an assembly line for creating fake identities. For years, and perhaps decades, Russia's operatives had been traveling to Brazil, not to spy, but to become Brazilian. They obtained passports, created businesses, made friendships and fell in love. Then, when their covers were virtually unassailable, they were to set off for other countries to conduct espionage. But the first crucial step was to obtain an authentic birth certificate. Historically, Moscow's spy services have devoted a great deal of energy to this task. In his memoir, Oleg Gordievsky, a former K.G.B. officer turned British agent, described his incessant search for birth records suitable for use by illegal operatives. He recounted how, while based in Denmark in the 1970s, he tried to recruit a priest who had access to a church ledger, in which births and deaths were inscribed. 'If we could gain access to the ledgers,' he wrote, 'we would be able to create any number of Danish identities.' Whoever planted the birth certificates in Brazil paid great attention to detail. 'The ink is normal, the page is OK,' the senior Brazilian investigator said. 'There is no tampering of the books at all.' Like other officials, he requested anonymity because of the continuing investigation. While the documents seemed legitimate, the information on them was bogus. The authorities found that the parents listed on the birth certificates either did not exist or had never had children whose names matched those on the documents. One birth certificate, investigators discovered, contained a rare slip-up — or perhaps a sly wink from one generation of spies to the next. According to a Western intelligence official, one of the fathers listed on the document was the Brazilian alias of another Russian deep-cover operative who had worked in South America and Europe a generation earlier. Andrei Soldatov, an author who is one of Russia's foremost experts on the intelligence services, said he had never heard of officers planting birth certificates so far in advance. But he said that would have been rewarded. 'If you can contribute to the illegals program, you put yourself in a really good spot in the eyes of your superiors,' he said. 'It would be really good for your career.'
Russia Today
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
EU country tells citizens how to spot Russian spies
One of Latvia's intelligence agencies has published an instruction manual on how to spot potential Russian spies and saboteurs. The Latvian Defense Intelligence and Security Service (MIDD) released the instructions to the general public on Wednesday. 'A sloppy, unkempt appearance and insufficient hygiene,' could be a visual clue that someone is a Russian reconnaissance-sabotage group member, according to the release. Other potential cues are tourist, paramilitary, or sports clothing, an athletic physique or a short haircut, it added. No one factor is a surefire sign of a spy, MIDD stressed, warning Latvians against attempting to take matters into their own hands or confronting anyone they may suspect. Maps, radios, navigation equipment, weapons, and survival foods could also be a red flag, the agency wrote. Infiltrator groups may choose remote places to live, such as in forests, near bodies of water, or in abandoned buildings, it said. In addition, Latvians should watch out for people unfamiliar with their surroundings, who appear to be observing the area or questioning locals about their political beliefs, MIDD wrote. Potential Russian spies could claim they are in the country on tourist or business trips, or for visiting friends or relatives, the agency wrote. MIDD warned that potential saboteurs could operate in groups of three to four and move 'military style.' One of the group members could be familiar with the local language, it added. They could also be carrying a Russian passport and rubles, the agency said. Latvia has shown particular hostility to its significant Russian minority, especially since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022. Around a quarter of the Baltic state's roughly 1.8 million people are ethnic Russians, according to official Latvian statistics. In May, Latvian Interior Minister Rihards Kozlovskis urged the EU to halt issuing Schengen tourist visas to Russian citizens, accusing them of posing a threat to the bloc's security. It is the EU's 'moral duty' to impose an outright visa ban on Russian tourists, the minister argued. During last week's Victory Day commemorations in Latvia, local police detained eight people and opened 67 administrative cases related to the events. The authorities charged people with singing Russian wartime songs, displaying banned Soviet symbols and making flower offerings in the colors of the flag of the Russian Federation.
The Guardian
15-05-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Latvia shares spy-spotting guide to help public expose Russian saboteurs
One of Latvia's intelligence services has warned its citizens that there may be Russian saboteurs and spies in their midst, and given them a handy guide on how to spot them. In its annual report, the Baltic state's Defence Intelligence and Security Service, known as MIDD, offered advice to its nearly two million-strong population on how to scope out possible operatives sent by Russia who are flying beneath the radar. A shabby, unkempt appearance and 'insufficient hygiene' might be one telltale sign an agent has gone underground. Other red flags include overly nosy small talk with locals, a short, military-style haircut, or tourists who do not know the terrain but have an unusual amount of outdoor survival equipment such as specialised medical kits, maps or radios. MIDD, one of three Latvian security agencies, said such giveaways could help citizens ferret out agents casing 'critical infrastructure and military facilities' for sabotage, plotting targeted killings or fomenting unrest. It said Russian operatives had upped their game in recent years, with training in chameleon-like disguises that made them harder to detect. 'The Ukrainian experience shows that Russian special services are able to adapt to the environment and circumstances in which reconnaissance-saboteur groups are used,' MIDD said. 'Their members may not visually correspond to the classic reconnaissance-saboteur profile.' The agents may be part of groups lingering near sensitive sites, posing as humanitarian workers or sleeping in remote areas without showing any interest in nature, the agency added. However, the security service cautioned ordinary citizens against vigilante actions on suspected Russian agents, stressing that police and the military were best equipped to take over when suspicion arose. Latvia's public broadcaster reported that state security had issued similar but less detailed spy-spotting tips for the public to report suspicious activity two years ago, after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. As tensions with the west have soared, EU and Nato member states have been on high alert for Russian sabotage amid a wave of cyber-attacks, arson and undersea cable damage blamed on Moscow. The Kremlin has denied the allegations. On Wednesday, German federal prosecutors said three Ukrainian nationals had been arrested on suspicion of plotting parcel bomb attacks in Germany on behalf the Russian state. Last July, European security agencies were alarmed by three separate explosions in packages sent from Lithuania which detonated in Birmingham, in the UK; Leipzig, in Germany; and near Warsaw, in Poland. Intelligence services suspect a Russian-engineered campaign. Sign up to This is Europe The most pressing stories and debates for Europeans – from identity to economics to the environment after newsletter promotion The latest German case has prompted calls from officials to step up the country's defences against hybrid threats. Thomas Strobl, the German interior minister of Baden-Wuerttemberg state where one of the trio was arrested, compared the impact of the plot coming to light to a 'tectonic quake'. 'We must adjust to new risk situations,' he said. 'We are not at war, but also no longer truly at peace.' The Associated Press contributed to this report.
