Estonian spy agency warns of Russian efforts to recruit refugees

BLOOMBERG

Russian security services have stepped up attempts to recruit Ukrainian refugees traveling to Estonia, the Baltic nation’s counterintelligence agency said in an annual report.
The EU country bordering Russia provided refugee status to 45,000 Ukrainians fleeing Russia’s invasion. It’s one of the biggest influxes seen by any country on a per-capita basis, with many of the displaced Ukrainians arriving in Estonia after passing through shared neighbour Russia.
Already in a vulnerable position from the war, the refugees are regularly interrogated by Russian spy agencies such as the Federal Security Service (FSB), in filtration camps and border points, and “activities will likely intensify in the future,” according to the report released by Estonia’s Internal Security Service.
“Conversations with the war refugees have shone a light on the FSB’s forceful actions against Ukrainians in Russia and the occupied territories,” the report said. “The FSB has also systematically worked to recruit war refugees arriving from Russia before they enter Estonia, both by threatening and bribing them.”
Russian spies from the country’s SVR and GRU intelligence agencies have continued to visit Estonia, “using various covers,” according the report.
Estonia, which has convicted 31 people for collaboration with foreign intelligence agencies over the last 15 years, has recently expelled several Russian diplomats from the country over accusations that they were spying.
The report also singled out China for its influence operations, pointing to closer cooperation between Chinese and Russian intelligence officers since Moscow launched its invasion in February 2022.