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Spotlight

RUSSIA

FSB, SVR, GRU: Russian intelligence faces up to its lack of foresight

From left: Valeri Guerassimov, Chief of Staff, Vladimir Putin, Sergei Shoigu, Minister of Defence, and Igor Kostyokov, GRU boss. © Alexei Druzhinin/Sputnik/Kremlin Pool

The first days of the offensives launched by Moscow against Ukraine revealed significant shortcomings in the Russian intelligence services. If, at the tactical level, the Spetsnaz and other 'little green men' were well-placed before the operations, their strategic and military plans were weakened by a series of individual biases. [...] (802 words)

Issue dated 07/03/2022 Reading time 4 minutes

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Government Intelligence

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FSB still at forefront of intelligence gathering in Ukraine

Rumours abound about the leadership of the Russian security services deployed in Ukraine to back the military offensive and feed Moscow with intelligence from the field. [...]

RUSSIA 16/05/2022

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RUSSIA 20/04/2022

Moscow's shadow advisers, intelligence officers and lobbyists lay low

As the hunt for those responsible for Russia's setbacks in Ukraine continues, lobbyists, private consultants and advisers close to the Kremlin, as well as former and current civil servants, are fearing a wave of purges. [...]

UNITED STATES RUSSIA 25/03/2022

US intelligence got confirmation of Russia's plans to invade Ukraine on 18 January

After regular alerts over a two-month period, American intelligence services were able to corroborate their suspicions about Russia's intentions towards Ukraine on 18 January. It was on this date that Washington was finally able to assemble the trail of clues left by Moscow into a coherent whole. [...]

EUROPE RUSSIA 14/03/2022

Ukraine war plunges Russian embassies in Europe into uncertainty

Moscow's diplomatic missions in Western Europe, which parrot the Kremlin line on the Ukraine conflict, remain suspended on the fate of Western embassies in the Russian capital. This is despite the fact that, the expulsions of the last few years notwithstanding, the embassies last year were boosted by the arrival of new intelligence officers. [...]

RUSSIA 07/03/2022

Alexander Zorin, the Russian security super envoy in Syria and Ukraine

The Ukraine conflict has brought back to the fore the negotiation skills of Alexander Zorin, now a general, who had first demonstrated these during Russia's intervention in Syria and then on the Libyan crisis. [...]

Russian General Alexander Zorin © Kevin Lamarque/Reuters

A satellite image shows a battalion-sized unit in a convoy near Filativka training area, Crimea February 15, 2022. © Maxar Technologies/Handout via Reuters

Spotlight

UNITED STATES FRANCE RUSSIA UKRAINE 03/03/2022

Geospatial intelligence providers caught in the middle of Russia-Ukraine war

The Russian invasion of Ukraine is almost the first conflict in history to be followed with live and publically available satellite imagery. The intelligence fuelling the information war between Russia and the West is not coming from state services alone. [...]

RUSSIA UKRAINE 01/03/2022

Following Wagner's lead, RSB makes its move into Ukraine

While media attention in Ukraine has been focused on the Wagner group, other Russian private military companies have also been operating in Kyiv. Among those tasked with tracking down President Volodymyr Zelensky is RSB, a company made up of former GRU members that has long been operating in Wagner's shadow. [...]

RUSSIA 17/02/2022

Alongside the Ukraine crisis, the Elysée and the Kremlin keep up talks on military memorials

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Guided by the FSB, Nur-Sultan and Moscow forge closer links

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Kazakstan's President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev with Russian leader Vladimir Putin. © EPA/Mikhail Klimentyev/Kremlin pool/Sputnik

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Ukraine's business community steps up pressure on France to align on Nord Stream 2 sanctions

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Spotlight

UNITED STATES FRANCE RUSSIA 08/02/2022

TotalEnergies is potential thorn in side of French-US talks on Russia

While French President Emmanuel Macron is trying a new diplomatic approach with Vladimir Putin this week in the Russian-US crisis over Ukraine, a behind-the-scenes battle is being waged to preserve Total's interests in Russia, which is under threat of US sanctions. [...]

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NIIRK, the small scientific research centre made up of ex-KGB agents is making assessment of "communication flows" a central priority. It is examining these in the three Baltic countries and five Central Asian states where Moscow is trying to push its narratives using soft power tools, such as the Rossotrudnichestvo and state media outlets. [...]

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RUSSIA UKRAINE 22/10/2021

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Being both head of the SVR and chairman of the Russian Historical Society puts Sergey Naryshkin in a position to reinstate a number of Soviet-era intelligence officers and in doing so furthering the Kremlin's regional strategy. [...]

RUSSIA 20/10/2021

CIS spymasters take their orders from Moscow

Summoned to Moscow by the SVR ahead of a CIS summit, the intelligence chiefs of its member states were given a list of urgent issues ranked by order of regional priority. Afghanistan stands out as a primary focus but US influence is never far from the picture. [...]

Serguei Narychkine, head of the SVR. © Tass/Alamy

RUSSIA 14/10/2021

FSB hushes up Russian space programme

FSB Director Alexander Bortnikov's decision to impose restrictions on the dissemination of information about Roscosmos' activities conveniently allows Moscow to conceal space weaponry development. Furthermore, it means public information sharing of difficulties faced by the Russian space agency can be avoided. [...]

Russia's space programme Roscomos © @roscosmos

RUSSIA 12/05/2021

Putin struggles to renew strategic guard in Middle East

Faced with significant diplomatic and security stakes in that part of the world, the Kremlin is renewing the close guard of siloviki in charge of Russian strategy in the Midle East. But it is struggling to include the younger generation. [...]

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Volodymyr Zelensky
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FSB, SVR, GRU: Russian intelligence faces up to its lack of foresight

This article is free

Create an account to read more

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SPECIAL OFFER

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FSB still at forefront of intelligence gathering in Ukraine

Operation new recruits: Russian intelligence targets conscripts and students

Moscow's shadow advisers, intelligence officers and lobbyists lay low

US intelligence got confirmation of Russia's plans to invade Ukraine on 18 January

Ukraine war plunges Russian embassies in Europe into uncertainty

Alexander Zorin, the Russian security super envoy in Syria and Ukraine

Geospatial intelligence providers caught in the middle of Russia-Ukraine war

Following Wagner's lead, RSB makes its move into Ukraine

Alongside the Ukraine crisis, the Elysée and the Kremlin keep up talks on military memorials

Guided by the FSB, Nur-Sultan and Moscow forge closer links

Ukraine's business community steps up pressure on France to align on Nord Stream 2 sanctions

TotalEnergies is potential thorn in side of French-US talks on Russia

NIIRK spymasters scrutinise Baltic and Central Asian countries via state media

Next generation of Russian siloviki blocked by old guard

Kyiv quietly fuming over Russian memorial to Soviet-era secret agent in Crimea

CIS spymasters take their orders from Moscow

FSB hushes up Russian space programme

Putin struggles to renew strategic guard in Middle East

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