Published: Less than 50 min ago
Tens of thousands of Russians in important positions stand ready to spy on Putin’s regime.
The CIA thinks so.
Now they must be found with a video.
But the Kremlin has a warning.
The United States’ insight into the Russian military leadership was talked about even before the war began.
The giant leak in the Pentagon, where a large number of documents were published in an online chat group, further showed how far large parts of the Russian war machine had been infiltrated.
Now they see an opportunity to come across more information about Russia – and recruit a whole new group of spies.
Contact the CIA
And they do it in front of Putin and his regime.
The dramatic short film was posted on Telegram, popular among Russians, on Monday night.
“We will be able to live in dignity, thanks to my actions,” says the narrator while a woman sits in a car, takes out her phone and contacts the American intelligence service, the CIA.
In other parts of the video clip, a woman sits and works at her computer and a man steps into an authority, shows his pass card and sits down at a desk full of documents.
“Has deep pockets”
The film ends with instructions on how to safely contact the American spy service.
James Olson during his time at the CIA. Photo: Press photo
– We have deep pockets and if you want to fight back against Putin, the man you hate, you have an opportunity to do it in a safe way, says James Olson, former director of the CIA’s counterintelligence, to CNN.
According to the CIA, the war in Ukraine and Putin’s crackdown on opposition opponents to the invasion have presented “a historic opportunity to get the Russians to come to us with information that the United States needs.” CNN reports.
It is hoped that Russians who hold important positions and sit on valuable information will step up and become “assets” for the United States.
Searching among thousands of Russians
The CIA believes there could be thousands, perhaps tens of thousands, of Russians in the group it is looking for.
It’s about people who were previously outside the traditional intelligence services and maybe wanted to help turn the tide in Russia, but didn’t know how to get in touch with the CIA or thought it was too dangerous, CNN reports.
They are looking for people in cyber security, technology and financial industries, the military and diplomacy.
– There are many dissatisfied Russians now who are ashamed of what Putin is doing to their brothers and sisters in Ukraine. He is destroying Russia. He kills Russian boys. And there are good people in Russia, among them intelligence agents, who want to fight back, says James Olson to CNN.
According to the CIA, Putin’s mobilization has increased opposition to the regime in the country and the possibility of recruiting spies.
The Kremlin’s warning
It is believed, however, that the video was not made to incite civil unrest in the country.
However, the Kremlin has a warning for those Russians who feel compelled to contact the CIA.
– It is a very convenient way for us to be able to track these, says Maria Zakharova, spokesperson for the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to Russian RBC who wrote about the defense attempts.
Dimitrij Peskov, spokesperson in the Kremlin, has also commented on the video at a press conference.
– I am sure that our intelligence service is monitoring this appropriately, he says according to NBC News.