Yuri Kobzar20:30, 03/26/23

The Russians pretended to be Argentines. Their children might not have known that they were actually Russians.

The authorities of Slovenia have detained a married couple who moved to this country from Argentina with two children. The pseudo-Argentines were actually spies for the Russian  Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), writes The Guardian .

Russian spies tried to imitate an active social life. The woman opened an online gallery, and the man ran an IT startup. The couple managed to convince their new friends and neighbors that terrible street crime in Argentina forced them to move to Slovenia.

However, in December last year, the family was detained by the local police during a secret special operation. As it turned out, the “Argentines” Maria and Ludwig were in fact well-trained Russian spies and citizens of the Russian Federation. On March 23, Slovenian Foreign Minister Tania Fayon confirmed this information.

It is noted that these spies were sent under the “sleeper agents” program. Unlike usual Russian practice, when espionage is carried out by diplomats accredited to embassies, these agents must operate without any apparent ties to Russia. 

“They are trained for years to impersonate foreigners and then sent abroad to gather intelligence. Many have children who are raised under the guise of an identity, unaware that their parents are really Russian,” writes The Guardian.

What exactly this couple was doing is not exactly known. Probably their task was to pay for the services of other Russian agents and informants throughout Europe. Little Slovenia, which does not have its own strong counterintelligence, was just a rear base for spies, from which it is convenient to work throughout the EU.

Hunt for Russian spies in the West

After Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, European countries became concerned about their own security and, among other things, began to actively catch Russian spies. So, recently in Italy a verdict was passed on a naval officer who worked for Moscow.

The other day, the Polish authorities reported on the elimination of a whole network of Russian spies operating in the country. It is alleged that these spies posed a threat, including to the critical infrastructure of Poland.

After the mass expulsion of Russian diplomats-spies and the capture of recruited agents from among EU citizens, the Russian spy network in Europe was on the verge of collapse , according to The Washington Post . The Kremlin has lost many important levers of influence and information.

(C)UNIAN 2023