European intelligence agencies uncover network of Russian spies - Le Monde.

The newspaper Le Monde, the EUobserver website, Belgian publications De Morgen and Humo, as well as Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty based in Prague, conducted a joint investigation into Russian diplomats expelled from Brussels by the Belgian authorities in early 2023. Among them were employees of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), the Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU), and the Federal Security Service (FSB).

As of January 2024, the total number of Russian diplomats expelled from NATO countries has reached 750, including 40 from France. This is the largest wave of expulsions since the Cold War.

The so-called group of twenty consisted of 19 expelled diplomats and one embassy staff member recalled by Moscow after coming under investigation by the Belgian Security Service. Among them were high-ranking Russian diplomats, trade attachés, advisors, secretaries, and technical personnel.

Of them, 11 individuals were identified as SVR agents, 7 as GRU employees, and 2 worked for the FSB. The Russian embassy in Brussels and 16 of the 20 expelled individuals who journalists from Le Monde and their partners tried to contact refused to comment.

Dmytro Yordandi, 55, and Igor Goryachev, 46, were reportedly leading SVR agents in Brussels. Both previously worked in France: Yordandi studied at the National School of Administration (ENA), and Goryachev was part of the Russian delegation at UNESCO.

Yordandi was also a member of the OSCE in Bosnia and is now vying for a leadership position in missions in Serbia, Kazakhstan, or Kyrgyzstan. Sergey Petrykov, 61, headed the GRU unit in Belgium. He was linked to Rosoboronexport and coordinated the work of Russian military intelligence operatives.

According to Russian intelligence expert Mark Galeotti, the GRU conducts more aggressive operations, including sabotage, kidnappings, and assassination attempts. One of its deputies in Belgium indicated in documents a Moscow address that corresponds to the location of the GRU's 92154 special unit.

Dmytro Subochev, 45, and Igor Yechnik were connected with the FSB. Their tasks included counterintelligence in the embassy and monitoring the Russian diaspora in Belgium, which numbers about 30,000 individuals.

However, the extensive expulsion of diplomats did not significantly weaken the position of Russian intelligence services in Europe. As former NATO representative James Appathurai stated, after a temporary decline, their networks were restored.

In recent months, EU intelligence services have recorded sabotage, arson, vandalism in politically significant locations, suspicious accidents on railways in Poland and Germany, cyberattacks on EU countries in response to support for Ukraine, and disinformation campaigns in Germany, Sweden, Finland, and the Baltic states.

Additionally, in July 2024, intelligence services became interested in two explosions at DHL logistics facilities in Germany (Leipzig) and the UK (Birmingham). The bombs were sent from Lithuania, and experts suggest this could have been a test for potential terrorist attacks on aircraft.

In July 2024, Russian agents reportedly prepared an assassination attempt on the head of the German arms concern Rheinmetall, Armin Papperger, who supplies arms to Ukraine. Executives of the Belgian company Euroclear, which manages frozen assets of $183 billion from Russia, are under increased protection.

Russian agents used Telegram to hire freelancers in Europe, paying them in cryptocurrency for one-off sabotage operations.

In Belgium and the EU, Russian intelligence is employing new methods, including using intermediaries such as political activists or asylum seekers. NATO intelligence services believe that Russia is preparing for a large-scale test of Europe's defense capabilities in the next 3 to 5 years.