Trojan horse for European Union  

The Wall Street Journal reported on Russian spies in Slovenia who posed as migrants from Argentina.

The deeply conspiratorial couple used Slovenia as a base for traveling around the EU, communicating with and paying other Russian agents.

Russia has a history of using spies disguised as migrants. This tactic dates back to Stalin's era in the 1940s when Russians abroad hunted for American atomic secrets. In 2010, the United States exposed a network of spies in an operation called "Ghost Stories," which included agents like Anna Chapman.

What's my point? The point is that the Russians continue to create their networks of agents in Europe in the United States today.

Probably, many spies have already left Russia under the guise of escaping mobilisation in 2022-2023. Or under the guise of being pacifists who disagree with Putin. I hope not many, because Russia was not ready for a long war and was unlikely to have prepared this operation in advance. It just took advantage of the situation.

The Russian Foreign Intelligence seems to be preparing a major special operation - a kind of Trojan horse aimed at the European Union.

In April, a newly established the Centre for Analysis and Strategies in Europe (CASE) presented a study titled "The new Russian diaspora: Europe’s challenge and opportunity".

The expert council of CASE includes figures such as Russian politician Dmitry Gudkov, economist Sergey Aleksashenko, sociologist and economist Vladislav Inosemtsev, financier Andrey Movchan, and political scientist and economist Dmitry Nekrasov. The Centre is registered in Cyprus, and its website does not disclose its funding sources.

I'm not sure if these individuals are working for Russian intelligence or if their report just happens to align perfectly with Vladimir Putin's goals to weaken the European Union. 

The study suggests making it easier for Russians to migrate to the EU. Their position was summarized in The Moscow Times article titled, "Let 3 million Russians come to Europe - and take 500 billion euros out of Putin's pockets."

The authors are now starting an advocacy campaign. They plan to present their findings at the French Institute of International Relations (IFRI) in Paris. They will also present their report to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), the German Foreign Ministry, and the Bundestag.

In other words, once again, they are calling on Europe to invite Russian migrants who have not even symbolically opposed Putin's policy. We are talking about economic migrants.

These individuals have been exposed to Russian imperial and chauvinistic propaganda for years. It is highly likely that among them will be thousands of well-trained Russian agents.

It's alarming to consider the future where Europe simply invites this Kremlin army in. Europe would be opening its doors, allowing them into universities, research centers, technology companies, and financial institutions.

Source

About the author. Andriy Yanitsky, journalist, director of development at Espreso TV

The editors do not always share the views expressed by the authors of the blogs.