France, Russia
From Stresa to Vienna, a Russian military intelligence spy's France mission revealed

By Antoine Izambard and Nicolas Quénel

Published on 02.12.2025 at 05:00 GMT Reading time 5 minutes

The GRU offensive in Europe (1/2). © J. Cassard/Le Parisien/MaxPPP//KeithBinns/iStock - Montage Bénédicte Gouttebroze/Indigo Publications

This article is part of this series

GRU's campaign in Europe

Part 1 From Stresa to Vienna, a Russian military intelligence spy's France mission revealed

Part 2 Russian military cyberspy discreetly operating in Paris

GRU's campaign in Europe (1/2). Russia's feared GRU military intelligence, headed by Igor Kostyukov and tasked with spying on Western Europe, was caught red-handed trying to recruit a French soldier stationed at a NATO base in Italy. Intelligence Online reveals the details behind the operation.

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