The push to recruit spies in the rivalry between Russia and the United States goes both ways. According to a new CNN report, the Central Intelligence Agency is out with a new Russian-language recruitment video to get Russians to turn secret agent against Vladimir Putin's regime — complete with dramatic production values.
"The push includes a new CIA channel on Telegram, the social media network that is a highly popular source of unfiltered news in Russia. The CIA first posted the video on Telegram, which ends with instructions on how to get in touch with the CIA anonymously and securely. The video is also being posted to its other social media platforms, including YouTube, Twitter, Instagram and Facebook," reported Alex Marquardt. "CIA officials involved in the project said that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has created a historic opening 'to have Russians come to us and deliver information the United States needs.' It also comes after a previous recruitment drive following the launch of the invasion that the officials said has been successful, with 'contact coming in.'"
According to the report, the CIA is not intending to fuel social unrest in the country — but does intend to capitalize on existing unrest, telling desperate Russians they have options, and appealing to their devotion to the Russian homeland and culture to stand up to oppressors uprooting their lives.
"'We will live with dignity, thanks to my actions,' the narrator says in Russian as a woman in her car uses her phone to contact the CIA, before the agency’s logo and contact instructions appear," said the report. "The emotional two-minute video shows different Russians going about their lives, appearing to contemplate major decisions. The theme of family runs throughout, showing a young girl in a hospital bed with a lady who appears to be her mother. The target audience is clear: a woman works at what appears to be a government computer and a man walks into a government building, flashes his ID before sitting at a desk full of files."
All of this comes as Russia is facing catastrophic setbacks in the Ukraine invasion, which is now conscripting thousands of Russian men to die for an operation Putin had promised would be quick and painless.
In addition to Ukraine planning a massive counteroffensive to retake Russian-held territory, a new report revealed that Yevgeniy Prigozhin, the leader of the Putin-aligned mercenary force the Wagner Group, secretly offered Ukraine a deal to leak Russian troop positions in exchange for a withdrawal from Bakhmut, where they were operating.
Watch CNN's report on the video below or at this link.
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