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Husband and wife outed as GRU spies aiding bombings and poisonings across Europe

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Re: Husband and wife outed as GRU spies aiding bombings and poisonings across Europe

#31

Post by Klaster_1 »

asveikau wrote: post #3

Interesting seeing this website with a .ru domain. Haven't been following them, but seems like they're based in Latvia. I don't think they would live comfortably being physically in Russia, but also seems like the state could seize the domain.

The Insider has been systematically repressed by the Putin's regime:

* "Foreign agent" label in 2021. This means massive restrictions on income sources and a target of gradually increasing restrictions as years go by.

* "Undesirable organization" in 2022. Donating to such organizations is a criminal offense.

* Roman Dobrokhotov - the Insider founder - has been wanted in Russia since 2021.

Re: Husband and wife outed as GRU spies aiding bombings and poisonings across Europe

#32

Post by dboreham »

tharmas wrote: post #13
amarant wrote: post #6

Wow that story is like something straight out of spy-romanticising drama! Crazy that such undercover agents really exist! Also, I wonder what the pay is like? Or how it even works.. probably best to not leave a obvious money trail between state and spy..

I recommend "The Octopus Murders" on Netflix. The "spy world" is active in all kinds of activities. Many unsavory. All in the name of "the National Interest". Also the story of Gary Webb is quite interesting too.

Agreed. See also Epstein. Very spook-connected dude.

Re: Husband and wife outed as GRU spies aiding bombings and poisonings across Europe

#33

Post by ChrisMarshallNY »

amarant wrote: post #6

Wow that story is like something straight out of spy-romanticising drama! Crazy that such undercover agents really exist! Also, I wonder what the pay is like? Or how it even works.. probably best to not leave a obvious money trail between state and spy..

Most nations have programs like that.

Source: My father[0] was one, for the CIA. Don't think he ever directed "kinetic" stuff, but I guess I'll never know.

[0] https://cmarshall.com/miscellaneous/MikeMarshall.htm

Re: Husband and wife outed as GRU spies aiding bombings and poisonings across Europe

#34

Post by acdha »

cynicalsecurity wrote: post #16
rramadass wrote: post #7

Interesting story; but as with all matters of this kind it is hard to know what is fact, what is fiction, what is disinformation/misinformation and what is propaganda. Folks interested in spy-craft would love the classic Deception : The Invisible War Between the KGB and the CIA by Edward Jay Epstein. This book provides insight into how deception is at the root of all disinformation/misinformation/propaganda/etc. whic…

[flagged]

A little skepticism is healthy for an unfamiliar source but don’t let your cynicism turn into a blindfold. This is in keeping with decades of precedent and describes official actions by the Czech government which can be verified, and it’s unclear to me what benefit Russia would have from drawing attention to their sabotage operations so you might want to start with a working theory there.

Re: Husband and wife outed as GRU spies aiding bombings and poisonings across Europe

#35

Post by benterix »

thriftwy wrote: post #27
kvgr wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you mean blow up ammunition before invasion? Not enough?

It's one of a stockpiles in a small country (out of many) which doesn't even border Ukraine, and the one who had a lot of economic integration going on with Russia. That also predated the axtual war 10 years. A Russian would say to you that if it's indeed a GRU op, they should do an internal investigation and shoot behind the garden shed the ones who devised / permitted it, after making effort to find out whether the…

> A Russian would say to you that if it's indeed a GRU op, they should do an internal investigation and shoot behind the garden shed the ones who devised / permitted it, after making effort to find out whether they were working for the other side, or just dumb on their own.

A naive Russian, I would say. Let's take a simple example:

> In 2009 the Šapošnikovs purchased a sprawling villa on the picturesque Aegean peninsula of Halkidiki, Greece. The price, as recorded in the notarial deed of purchase obtained by The Insider, was 275,292 euros, or $300,000 at the time. Elena would later tell investigators that she had funded the investment “with money from my parents” – a tall order for the septuagenarian couple living in Kyiv on pensions of under $300 per month.

I don't believe that the people who approved such money transfers were small fish in the GRU.

Re: Husband and wife outed as GRU spies aiding bombings and poisonings across Europe

#36

Post by acdha »

Klaster_1 wrote: post #31
asveikau wrote: post #3

Interesting seeing this website with a .ru domain. Haven't been following them, but seems like they're based in Latvia. I don't think they would live comfortably being physically in Russia, but also seems like the state could seize the domain.

The Insider has been systematically repressed by the Putin's regime: * "Foreign agent" label in 2021. This means massive restrictions on income sources and a target of gradually increasing restrictions as years go by. * "Undesirable organization" in 2022. Donating to such organizations is a criminal offense. * Roman Dobrokhotov - the Insider founder - has been wanted in Russia since 2021.

How does that not translate into the .ru domain name being seized?

Re: Husband and wife outed as GRU spies aiding bombings and poisonings across Europe

#37

Post by kvgr »

thriftwy wrote: post #27
kvgr wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you mean blow up ammunition before invasion? Not enough?

It's one of a stockpiles in a small country (out of many) which doesn't even border Ukraine, and the one who had a lot of economic integration going on with Russia. That also predated the axtual war 10 years. A Russian would say to you that if it's indeed a GRU op, they should do an internal investigation and shoot behind the garden shed the ones who devised / permitted it, after making effort to find out whether the…

Economic yes, used to be. But the hatred for russians in czech republic is real. Also we don't know what other conflict the ammo was supposed go to. And there is also a possibility of testing preparedness of EU and Nato.

Re: Husband and wife outed as GRU spies aiding bombings and poisonings across Europe

#38

Post by dralley »

thriftwy wrote: post #27
kvgr wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you mean blow up ammunition before invasion? Not enough?

It's one of a stockpiles in a small country (out of many) which doesn't even border Ukraine, and the one who had a lot of economic integration going on with Russia. That also predated the axtual war 10 years. A Russian would say to you that if it's indeed a GRU op, they should do an internal investigation and shoot behind the garden shed the ones who devised / permitted it, after making effort to find out whether the…

There were not so many large stockpiles of Soviet-era munitions in Western-friendly countries. And despite 2014 being smaller scale than the current conflict I wouldn't say that it's not "actual war". Active Russian soldiers have been confirmed involved, rocket artillery was fired at Ukraine from across the Russian border, territory was annexed.

Re: Husband and wife outed as GRU spies aiding bombings and poisonings across Europe

#39

Post by Klaster_1 »

acdha wrote: post #36
Klaster_1 wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Insider has been systematically repressed by the Putin's regime: * "Foreign agent" label in 2021. This means massive restrictions on income sources and a target of gradually increasing restrictions as years go by. * "Undesirable organization" in 2022. Donating to such organizations is a criminal offense. * Roman Dobrokhotov - the Insider founder - has been wanted in Russia since 2021.

How does that not translate into the .ru domain name being seized?

As far as I'm aware, no ".ru" domains have been seized yet from media independent from the Russian government. Instead, they prefer to block website access - by law, every ISP has to install DPI-enabled hardware, which is used to censor the net.
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