A trip to discuss post-warranty servicing of Czech-made airport radars has spiralled into an espionage case. A Czech businessman detained in China could be traded for a Chinese agent held in Prague.
The FBI chief Kash Patel is heading to Moscow, where he is to be hosted by the Russian security service, the FSB. Nothing wrong with that in principle: under the previous administration the then CIA chief Bill Burns regularly acted as message-carrier to the Kremlin. But news of the visit comes as allies’ trust in American spookdom is hitting new lows, warns Edward Lucas.
Vladimir Putin’s envoy to the EU had a strange career path, a spy-linked uncle, spy friends, and allegedly played a role in pre-Brexit dirty tricks in the UK.
“A new trend involves posting job advertisements [on LinkedIn] … and then approaching selected candidates,” Estonia’s intelligence agency said, in its annual report.
Millions of euros worth of EU subsidies and taxpayer money is fuelling the very market that leads to spying on journalists, activitists, politicians and people in the EU, and undermines our democracies.
A former Czech intelligence chief slams Hungary after leaked recordings reveal Hungarian foreign minister Péter Szijjártó receiving instructions from the Kremlin. “This behaviour is disgusting and incomprehensible,” Jan Paďourek said. As Budapest shares sensitive EU secrets with Moscow, Nato allies are now cutting ties and bypassing Hungary to protect Western security.
Interview with Anna Thalhammer, who exposed Austrian journalists suspected of working for Moscow, why the country treats Russian espionage so casually, and how its history has shaped this attitude.
