Latest news with #SVR
Yahoo
11 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Ukraine war briefing: Flood of North Korean arms to Russia, say US, Japan and others
North Korea has supplied to Russia as many as nine million rounds of artillery and rocket launcher ammunition, as well as at least 100 ballistic missiles along with self-propelled artillery guns and long-range multiple rocket launchers, according to the Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team, a group comprising 11 UN members. The shipments have enabled Russia to increase attacks against civilian targets, and there have been 20,000 containers of the gear transferred by Russian cargo ships, in violation of UN sanctions. The monitoring group comprises the US, South Korea, Japan, and eight other UN member states. It was set up after Russia and China cooperated to scrap an official security council panel that did the job. The multilateral group has said in its first ever report that Russia is helping North Korea improve its missiles' guidance systems by sending back data from the battlefield. Moscow also provided air defence equipment, anti-aircraft missiles and electronic warfare systems to North Korea. 'At least for the foreseeable future, North Korea and Russia intend to continue and further deepen their military cooperation in contravention of relevant UN security council resolutions.' After months of silence, North Korea and Russia confirmed in April that North Korean troops have been fighting on the Russian side in the Ukraine war. Russia's SVR intelligence service has complained about Serbian ammunition ending up in Ukrainian hands via other countries when Moscow expects Belgrade's 'fraternal Slavic' obedience. The SVR alleges the trail leads to Ukraine through the Czech Republic, Poland and Bulgaria. Serbia's president, Aleksandar Vucic, told RTS television that he had discussed the exports with Vladimir Putin and the two countries would form a 'working group' about it. But Vucic added that Serbia was criticised by both the east and west 'because it leads autonomous and independent policies … Our factories must live and work. About 24,000 people work directly in the defence industry, and they depend on this industry.' Vucic has previously said that once the ammunition is sold to another country, he does not care where it goes next. At the United Nations, the US told the security council on Thursday that its proposal for a 30-day comprehensive ceasefire was 'Russia's best possible outcome' and Vladimir Putin should take it. 'We want to work with Russia, including on this peace initiative and an economic package. There is no military solution to this conflict,' acting US ambassador John Kelley told the council. Russia is supposed to put forward a memorandum of its terms for peace but is refusing to do hand it over – demanding a further meeting with Ukraine, which says it has already sent its conditions. Kelley condemned Russia's recent attacks on Ukraine as not demonstrating 'a desire for peace'. 'We will judge Russia's seriousness towards ending the war, not only by the contents of that term sheet, but more importantly, by Russia's actions … Additional sanctions on Russia are still on the table.' Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said Russia was engaging in 'yet another deception' by failing to hand over its peace settlement proposal ahead of their potential next meeting in Turkey on 2 June. 'Even the so-called memorandum they promised and seemingly prepared for more than a week has still not been seen by anyone … despite promises to the contrary, first and foremost to the United States of America, to President Trump. Yet another Russian deception.' Ukraine's foreign ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi said that without being able to review Russia's memorandum, Kyiv would conclude 'it is likely filled with unrealistic ultimatums, and they are afraid of revealing that they are stalling the peace process'. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan – president of Turkey which would again host the talks – called on Russia and Ukraine not to 'shut the door' on dialogue. 'The road to a resolution goes through more dialogue, more diplomacy. We are using all our diplomatic power and potential for peace,' he said, according to his office.
Euronews
17 hours ago
- Business
- Euronews
Russia accuses Serbia of 'stabbing Moscow in the back' by arming Kyiv
Russia accused Serbia of exporting arms to Ukraine, calling it a "stab in the back" from one of Moscow's longest-standing European allies. The Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) issued a statement on Thursday claiming that "Serbian defence enterprises, contrary to the 'neutrality' declared by official Belgrade, continue to supply ammunition to Kyiv.' The statement alleged that the export of the Serbian arms to Ukraine was going through NATO intermediaries, "primarily the Czech Republic, Poland and Bulgaria." "Recently, exotic options involving African states have also been used for this purpose," SVR said. Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić denied the accusations on Friday, saying that although the contract with the Czech Republic does exist, it does not allow exporting the materiel to another country. "For example, they correctly say that there is a contract with the Czech Republic. But no permission was given, and none of the (ammunition) was delivered" to Ukraine, Vučić told Serbian state broadcaster RTS. He added that he had already discussed the issue of arms exports to Ukraine with Russian President Vladimir Putin recently and that it was agreed that Moscow and Belgrade would create a "working group" to establish how Serbian-made weapons reached Ukraine. This is not the first time Vučić has had to respond to similar claims. The Financial Times reported in June 2024 that Serbian ammunition worth €750 million has made its way indirectly to Ukraine. In March, Belgrade denied it exported arms to Kyiv after Moscow demanded to know if it had delivered thousands of rockets for Ukraine's defence against Russia's all-out invasion. Serbian arms' presence in Ukraine, mostly Soviet-era calibre ammunition adopted as standard and manufactured in the former Yugoslavia, has been publicly discussed since 2023, but it is unclear why the Russian foreign security service decided to react now. The SVR has claimed that the arms sales are being carried out through a "simple scheme using fake end-user certificates and intermediary countries" serving as "a cover for anti-Russian actions". The accusations out of Moscow went even further to say that "the contribution of Serbian defence industry workers to the war unleashed by the West, the outcome of which Europe would like to see as a 'strategic defeat' of Russia, amounts to hundreds of thousands of shells ... as well as a million rounds of ammunition for small arms". 'It seems that the desire of Serbian defence industry workers and their patrons to profit from the blood of fraternal Slavic peoples has made them completely forget who their real friends are and who their enemies are," the statement said. Vučić stated that the attacks on Serbia from the East and the West are "frequent" because Belgrade "leads autonomous and independent policies". Serbia is one of the countries in the Western Balkans that is considered a major candidate for EU membership. At the same time, Vučić has maintained close ties with Russia, including after Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. He was among a handful of European leaders to attend Putin's Victory Day parade in Moscow on 9 May, a decision Vučić defended by saying he was there to celebrate Serbia's participation in liberating the continent from fascism in World War II. Serbia also refused to join Western sanctions on Russia and hasn't supported most EU statements condemning Moscow's full-scale invasion, although it voted in favour of its condemnation at the UN.
ABC News
2 days ago
- General
- ABC News
Russia is expanding its espionage output at a 'staggeringly reckless' rate. Here's why
Since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, European countries have expelled at least 750 Russian diplomats accused of espionage. NATO says it has been the largest counterintelligence operation in the West since the Cold War. In early May, six Bulgarian spies were jailed in the United Kingdom for feeding sensitive information to Russia. NATO's deputy assistant secretary-general James Appathurai said Russia had a "higher risk appetite" towards espionage in 2025, and he believed the nation had increased its spying output. Richard Moore, head of MI6, the UK's foreign intelligence agency, said Russia was on a "mission to generate mayhem". Dennis Desmond, a former special agent with the US Defense Intelligence Agency, said the arrests and charges the world saw were just the "tip of the iceberg". He said for every Russian spy caught, there was a much larger, much scarier number still operating. Russia's security and espionage network falls into three branches — the Federal Security Service (FSB), the Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) and the Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces (GRU). In 2022, according to a Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) report, Russia changed how it deployed spy operations "to prepare for destabilisation" in Europe and further afield. It found Russia made changes to its spy program in reaction to "the eventual counterintelligence regime" from Ukraine's allies. The report's primary conclusions were that Russia's special services were actively seeking to expand in order to pose strategic threats to NATO members. A NATO analysis said it was concerned by the "intensifying campaign of activities which Russia continues to carry out across the Euro-Atlantic area", and that Russia poses a "threat to Allied security". The RUSI report says the GRU "is restructuring how it manages the recruitment and training of special forces troops" and is "rebuilding" its apparatus to a higher level than before. A separate report went a step further to say Russia was "conducting an escalating and violent campaign of sabotage and subversion" led by Russian military intelligence (GRU), according to a new CSIS database of Russian activity. A lot of this escalation is happening in two GRU units — Unit 29155 and Unit 54654. Recruitment to Unit 29155 focuses on individuals without military backgrounds, trained within the GRU, reflecting a shift towards generating cleanskins — someone not on the radar of any security services — for operations. Unit 54654 operates differently. It recruits personnel without military contracts and contractors, through front companies to avoid government records. There are other GRU organisations involved in subversive activities — particularly cyber intelligence — such as Unit 26165, also known as Fancy Bear, and Unit 74455, also referred to as Sandworm. Since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, the European Union, the UK and the United States have all imposed sanctions on it aimed at cutting oil revenues that are funding the war. The sanctions have led to the rise of a vast "shadow fleet" of tankers helping Moscow keep its crude exports flowing and funding its war plans. Dr Desmond said the sanctions "don't really hurt Russia" as intended. "They've already got so many sanctions against them, and Western nations are going to keep making more sanctions, and really that hurts the population, not the government or politicians," he said. "Russia is going to continue to do what they do through the support of China, North Korea, Iran, Venezuela and other countries who are able to circumvent sanctions and provide support." He said these sympathetic nations were "assisting Russia intelligence collection" to build what he described as a "giant vacuum" of information that no matter the sanctions or restrictions, Russia will continue to operate. "Yes, Australians should be concerned about Russian — and other — spies potentially operating in Australia," Sarah Kendall, an expert in legislative response to espionage said. ASIO director-general Mike Burgess said in February that "it is conceivable Russia could also target Australia for sabotage". "The war in Europe prompted a more aggressive and reckless Russian intelligence apparatus to target Ukraine's supporters, including Australia," he said. Dr Kendall said Russian spies were not only targeting government officials or those with access to classified information. "They are targeting a wide range of people for a wide range of information, including information that may seem innocuous," she said. "Because of this, we all have a role to play in security." We have already seen allegations of Russian spying on Australian soil — Kira and Igor Korolev were charged with spying offences in 2024. But ASIO says it has increased its counterespionage work since then and uses Australia's strong laws against espionage and foreign interference. "ASIO's more aggressive counterespionage posture has made it more difficult and expensive for foreign spies to operate in Australia," Mr Burgess said. Dr Desmond said there could be more spies operating on our shores, and they would be "very difficult to identify". "They eat, sleep, look like, sound like and act like Australians," he said. "They engage in clandestine collection operations, they recruit sources and agents, and they conduct sabotage assassinations. The Western world is well aware of Russia's increased espionage output over recent years but fear of "uncontained escalation" is stopping the West from properly extinguishing the mounting threat, according to the RUSI report. The report highlighted to the West that Russia was expanding its influence to "evade containment, and destabilise and disrupt its adversaries". The report states that spy work is not new in Russia, and no matter how long it takes "they have the patience to keep going". "They will continue to engage in espionage, they will continue to engage in strategic planning and operations in order to be successful at gaining the information intelligence that they absolutely need," Dr Desmond said. He said they do this while "simultaneously influencing decision makers abroad through disinformation campaigns" and "influencing political decisions and elections where they can". In his opinion the West is already at war with Russia — a "cyber espionage war".
Hindustan Times
2 days ago
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Behind Putin's Back, Serbia Armed Russia's Biggest Enemy with $900 Million in Missiles? Moscow Fumes
Russia has accused its traditional Slavic ally Serbia of betraying their relationship by supplying over $900 million worth of missiles and arms to Ukraine. According to the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), at least seven major Serbian defense companies have covertly sent hundreds of thousands of rockets and millions of small arms cartridges to Ukraine, often using fake end-user certificates and routing shipments through NATO intermediaries such as the Czech Republic, Poland, and Bulgaria. Russia described these transfers as a "stab in the back," but Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić has denied these allegations.
Euronews
2 days ago
- Business
- Euronews
Russia accuses Serbia of ‘stabbing Moscow in the back' by arming Kyiv
Russia accused Serbia of exporting arms to Ukraine, calling it a "stab in the back" from one of Moscow's longest-standing European allies. The Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) issued a statement on Thursday claiming that "Serbian defence enterprises, contrary to the 'neutrality' declared by official Belgrade, continue to supply ammunition to Kyiv.' The statement alleged that the export of the Serbian arms to Ukraine was going through NATO intermediaries, "primarily the Czech Republic, Poland and Bulgaria." "Recently, exotic options involving African states have also been used for this purpose," SVR said. Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić denied the accusations on Friday, saying that although the contract with the Czech Republic does exist, it does not allow exporting the materiel to another country. "For example, they correctly say that there is a contract with the Czech Republic. But no permission was given, and none of the (ammunition) was delivered" to Ukraine, Vučić told Serbian state broadcaster RTS. He added that he had already discussed the issue of arms exports to Ukraine with Russian President Vladimir Putin recently and that it was agreed that Moscow and Belgrade would create a "working group" to establish how Serbian-made weapons reached Ukraine. This is not the first time Vučić has had to respond to similar claims. The Financial Times reported in June 2024 that Serbian ammunition worth €750 million has made its way indirectly to Ukraine. In March, Belgrade denied it exported arms to Kyiv after Moscow demanded to know if it had delivered thousands of rockets for Ukraine's defence against Russia's all-out invasion. Serbian arms' presence in Ukraine, mostly Soviet-era calibre ammunition adopted as standard and manufactured in the former Yugoslavia, has been publicly discussed since 2023, but it is unclear why the Russian foreign security service decided to react now. The SVR has claimed that the arms sales are being carried out through a "simple scheme using fake end-user certificates and intermediary countries" serving as "a cover for anti-Russian actions". The accusations out of Moscow went even further to say that "the contribution of Serbian defence industry workers to the war unleashed by the West, the outcome of which Europe would like to see as a 'strategic defeat' of Russia, amounts to hundreds of thousands of shells ... as well as a million rounds of ammunition for small arms". 'It seems that the desire of Serbian defence industry workers and their patrons to profit from the blood of fraternal Slavic peoples has made them completely forget who their real friends are and who their enemies are," the statement said. Vučić stated that the attacks on Serbia from the East and the West are "frequent" because Belgrade "leads autonomous and independent policies". Serbia is one of the countries in the Western Balkans that is considered a major candidate for EU membership. At the same time, Vučić has maintained close ties with Russia, including after Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. He was among a handful of European leaders to attend Putin's Victory Day parade in Moscow on 9 May, a decision Vučić defended by saying he was there to celebrate Serbia's participation in liberating the continent from fascism in World War II. Serbia also refused to join Western sanctions on Russia and hasn't supported most EU statements condemning Moscow's full-scale invasion, although it voted in favour of its condemnation at the UN.
