Moscow dusts off old KGB manuals

Russian intelligence puts down roots in Donetsk 

Firmly established in Donbas for many years, Russia's intelligence services have been gradually taking over the dense security apparatus in Donetsk.

Before shakeups, Kremlin hawks engage in power game with siloviki 

Former president Dmitry Medvedev as well as Viasheslav Volodin and Andrei Turchak are hoping to profit from the war in Ukraine and the confrontation with the West to climb the ladder in the Russian regime.

• IRAQ - PKK renews high command's mandate and reaffirms strategic priorities

• FRANCE - DGSI's role in counterterrorism secured

• RUSSIA/CHINA - Beijing counts on Russia to promote SCO

• USA/GEORGIA - Washington confirms its commitment to Tbilisi

• FRANCE/UKRAINE - Florence Parly sticks to low estimate on Paris's Ukraine spending

FSB poised for additional responsibilities under new national security strategy 

Vladimir Putin's recent reframing of the role of the FSB gives some indication of the direction the soon to be announced national security strategy will go in, spanning the seas, borders and strategically important information security.

Ex-Gulf consultant moves to Moldavia 

Louis Gerlin, who was active in the Gulf region for many years, is positioning himself as an intermediary for aircraft

The FSB 

The FSB, the Russian internal intelligence service, has stepped up

Nuclear intelligence 

Ukraine's ongoing crisis has increased the risk of theft at the country's nuclear sites. A US Department of Energy unit is using monitors to watch over them.

Bounty hunters back 

Investigators and lawyers are positioning themselves to help Ukraine trace assets allegedly stolen by Viktor Yanukovych's administration.

On the Crimean commercial front 

Russia's annexation of the Ukrainian province may have closed some doors for Western defence companies in Russia but it has opened others in the Baltic States.

NATO opens its ears 

A vast electronic monitoring operation has been put in place by NATO to track Russian military deployment on the border with Ukraine.

Putin plays with fire 

Vladimir Putin's recent actions in Ukraine have worried NATO nuclear

Paris points antennae at Crimea 

Messages that have been intercepted in Crimea make it abundantly clear. Although no confirmation has been forthcoming from the French