Russian spies can fly drones over British military bases in order to obtain information about Ukrainian troops.
Points of attention
- Russian special services have shown significant interest in the training of Ukrainian recruits through Operation Interflex.
- Spies carry out physical reconnaissance and use drones to obtain information about Ukrainian military facilities.
- Vulnerable places for espionage are training grounds, air and sea ports of landing of military units.
- Ukrainian servicemen undergo basic and specialized training on training grounds in Britain to improve their level of training.
Britain warned about the danger posed by Russian spies to the Armed Forces
As noted, Russian special services have shown "significant" interest in Operation "Interflex" — the code name for the training of 34,000 Ukrainian recruits.
In addition to flying drones over military bases, Russian agents have approached army instructors both online and in person for information.
The government takes the security of our military facilities very seriously. There are a number of reliable measures in place to protect our people and facilities, said the spokesperson of the Ministry of Defense.
How Moscow is trying to infiltrate Britain's military support for Ukraine
According to journalists, the Russian special services regularly use a number of physical intelligence and technical capabilities to gather information, in particular, about the training of the personnel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Tactics, techniques and procedures (TTP) include the use of remotely piloted aircraft, mobile and foot surveillance, virtual and physical approaches to training service providers, as well as interest from investigative journalists... Vulnerable sites are training sites, air port of embarkation, sea port of disembarkation, as well as key locations and logistics facilities, the manual says.
It also states that soldiers who are training the Ukrainian military must be especially attentive to "credible" threats from Russian espionage.
Defense sources told the newspaper that there was "little evidence" that drones were being used to spy on exercises. There, it was suggested that the manual was written to warn soldiers of the risks. But the warnings of the British army bear a striking resemblance to the methods of Russian espionage in other European countries.
Germany admitted that Ukrainian soldiers were being watched by unknown drones during the exercises. And Poland has arrested 18 people since the end of last year on suspicion of planning arson and sabotage on behalf of Russia and Belarus.
We will remind you that the British Army uses training grounds throughout the country to train Ukrainian servicemen. Most Ukrainians take a basic 35-day course. But some more experienced Ukrainian servicemen have completed specialized courses.
