GOVERNMENT INTELLIGENCE

DGSE relocation pushed back by two years 

The future DGSE headquarters in Vincennes, scheduled for 2028, will now not be ready until 2030. Work has not even begun yet.

Loyal lieutenant Nikolai Karpenkov prepares for post-Lukashenko 

Acting on persistent rumours of President Alexander Lukashenko's possible replacement, his faithful security chief and deputy interior minister colonel Karpenkov has been rallying his network of journalists and experts to broadcast messages of support for the leader and preferred succession scenarios.

Ukrainian and Western intelligence services consider options for collaboration on vetting foreign combatants 

Informal consultations are currently underway between the SBU, Interpol and various Western intelligence services that could lead to new standardised procedures for sharing data on individuals wanted in their countries of origin.

India and US shore up border surveillance on China 

Though still impervious to India's requests for a greater military presence in the region, Washington has accepted supporting Indian armed forces in their bid to regain disputed territories currently under the control of the Chinese People's Liberation Army.

• RUSSIA - FSO regulates military service

• FRANCE - Former COS liaison chief ordered to return extra pay

• TAIWAN - NATO slows down rapprochement with Taipei

• UNITED STATES - All drone policies point to the DNI

Indictment exposes SVR industrial spy's former defence partners 

While the US Department of Justice's probe into Greek businessman Nikolaos Bogonikolos focuses on goods illegally exported to Russia's intelligence services, the man at the heart of the investigation long worked in the same circles as several European defence groups.

Culture ministry pursues PR drive to promote security forces 

Apart from the honours regularly awarded by the president, the Ukrainian state is working on longer-term public relations campaigns praising the commitment of the country's soldiers and volunteers, including those working in intelligence. It has recruited a number of outside contractors to this end.

CRDF Global champions DoS cyber support for Ukraine 

The US not-for-profit organisation CRDF is continuing in its tradition of helping the US Department of Defense in the post-Soviet states. In Kyiv, it has helped shape and assist a dense network of Ukrainian security players, providing help in key strategic areas.

Wagner taps into Saint Petersburg State University talent pool 

Some of the institution's teaching staff are covertly headhunting on behalf of Yevgeny Prigozhin's paramilitary organisation, on the lookout for highly specialised recruits.

Bouthaina Shaaban, Assad's discreet regional relations-builder 

While the delicate task of working towards Syria's reconciliation with its neighbours in the Middle East is in the hands of his intelligence chiefs, Bashar al-Assad has also sought help from prominent figures of his father's old guard.