2023-06-27 00:00:43
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BERLIN – The main intelligence agency Swiss say, Russia still has dozens of spies posing as diplomats at its embassy in Bern and its mission to the United Nations in Geneva. This makes the mountainous country a hotspot for activity espionage Russia in Europe.
The Swiss spy agency NDB said in its annual report published Monday (26/6/2023), that the number of Russian spies in Switzerland remained stable.
It is also reported that Russian intelligence activities in Europe and North America have been weakened by the expulsion of Russian agents posing as diplomats, following the Skripal incident in 2018 and last year’s invasion of Ukraine.
“Of the approximately 220 people accredited as diplomatic or technical-administrative personnel at diplomatic and consular missions in Geneva and Bern, at least one third is likely to still be active for Russian intelligence services,” the NDB said in the report.
“Across Europe, Switzerland is one of the countries where the vast majority of Russian intelligence personnel are deployed under diplomatic cover, in part because of its role as a host country for international organizations,” the NDB said.
As well as Russia, China is also believed to have dozens of spies at its diplomatic mission in Switzerland. But according to the NDB, there are far fewer of them than Russia. According to the NDB, China is more likely to have spies posing as scientists, journalists and business people.
(esn)
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