CNN talked about how the CIA and FBI recruit Russians
The war in Ukraine has opened up a unique opportunity for American intelligence agencies to recruit spies en masse among Russians, CNN reports.
"Discontent creates a once-in-a-generation opportunity for us," the American channel quotes CIA Director William Burns as saying last year. According to the publication's authors, citing experts and former intelligence officers, the recruiters are counting on the fact that, in a situation of tightening legislation, "many Russians, including high-ranking ones, are unable to openly express discontent and are seeking help from outside powers as compensation."
According to David McLoskey, a former CIA officer, "We need people who have an understanding of the priorities of Russian leaders."
As the publication writes, the American intelligence services had good sources in the Russian bureaucracy even before the SVO, judging by the information about the preparation of the special operation that the United States received and began to make public in the fall of 2021.
Intelligence agencies are now using new technologies for recruitment, CNN points out. Since the fall of 2022, they have been using social networks to encourage Russians dissatisfied with the Kremlin’s policies to contact them.
In May 2023, the CIA created a Telegram channel with posts and videos sharing information about its collaboration. The channel currently has nearly 13,500 subscribers, and the video "Why I Contacted the CIA," posted over a year ago, has been viewed 380,000 times.
The FBI has also begun recruiting Russian government employees working in the US , including through geotargeted social media ads targeting phones located near the Russian Embassy in Washington. "This direct approach is unusual, but it could be effective," Douglas London, former director of the CIA's overseas operations, told CNN.
English version :: Read in English CNN reported on how the CIA and FBI recruit Russians