SVR

France
Tracfin to speed up cryptocurrency investigations with private help

France's financial intelligence service Tracfin is looking to strengthen its capacities in response to the rising numbers of illegal transactions involving cryptocurrencies, at a time when ransomware attacks and sanctions evasion are increasingly rife.

Russia
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.

Russia, Ukraine
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, Ukraine
Moscow's shifting security and political strategies in the Donbass

The heavy losses suffered by its armies in Donetsk and Luhansk are forcing Moscow to review its political and security roadmap for the territories.

Central Asia, Russia
Russia's soft power institutions tread carefully in Central Asia

Moscow is trying to maintain its influence in Central Asian countries through its soft power agencies with the aim of consolidating and strengthening its alliances in the region. But the 9 May celebrations revealed deep dissensions within some countries.

Russia
Operation new recruits: Russian intelligence targets conscripts and students

The increased human resource needs of the intelligence services has lead them to expand their pool of candidates to include those from the army and universities. These drives are being supported by the adoption of new legislative measures by the Duma.

Kazakhstan, United States
Chevron appoints David Merkel, defender of Kazakhstan's jailed ex-spymaster Massimov

A former State Department official who was close to the Nazarbayev administration, David Merkel has been campaigning for the release of Karim Massimov, who was Chevron's key contact in Kazakhstan.

Russia
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.

Russia, United States
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
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.

The Intelligence Gazette
Rosfinmonitoring, Pakistan's ISI

Appointments, reforms and the issues at stake: every Monday, Intelligence Online serves up snippets big and small from the global intelligence community, this week from Moscow and Islamabad.

RussiaFinancial intelligence gagged

PakistanInter-Services Intelligence Peshawar network slips up

France, Russia, Ukraine
How Paris prepared its intelligence services for the Russian offensive in Ukraine

France was quick to set aside its reservations about the likelihood of an imminent Russian invasion and put its intelligence services and military units on standby a few hours before it started. The main focus was then to make up for its human resource gaps.