Russians recruit saboteurs in Europe via Telegram and TikTok

A special unit of the Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces has been organising sabotage in Europe by recruiting operatives through Telegram and TikTok.

Source: investigative centre Dossier, which obtained access to relevant documents

Details: A team of agents from the Main Directorate of the General Staff, led by Colonel Denis Smolyaninov, is behind a series of sabotage operations in Europe.

They recruited a man in Latvia through Telegram at the beginning of 2024, who, according to their instructions, threw a Molotov cocktail at the Museum of the Occupation of Latvia in Riga.

The same team was responsible for a disinformation campaign during the Israel-Palestine war late in 2023. A group of Moldovan citizens painted buildings in Paris and its suburbs with Stars of David. They were recruited via TikTok.

Smolyaninov's team seeks agents through job search chats, among pro-Russian activists, criminals or radicals (both right and left-wing).

Dossier’s sources claim that the Main Directorate of the General Staff also involves criminals from Russia, Ukraine, Georgia, Armenia, Moldova and Serbia in these acts of sabotage by recruiting them through employees from the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Sometimes, these agents also hold EU passports.

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