Russian spying scandal intensifies traitor hunt in European Union

Explosive accusations that Latvian MEP Tatiana Judanoka worked as a Russian spy for some 13 years have rattled MPs across the continent.

Insider, Delfi Estonia, Re:Baltica Center for Investigative Reporting and Sweden’s Expressen newspaper reported, citing emails and other correspondence, that Zydanoka has been spying on Russian information from Moscow to Brussels since at least 2003. He said he was trying to arrange a face-to-face meeting with a contact at the agency. Through their research. She also solicited funding from agents and shared her draft concepts and press releases on several occasions, according to the investigation.

The European Parliament has since launched an investigation into the matter, and Latvian lawmakers are now warning that there are other Russian spies like her and are reinvigorating efforts to catch them.

“We are convinced that Zidanoka is not an isolated case,” Sandra Carniete, Roberts Zeal and Ivars Ijavus said in the letter, according to Politico. “There are other members of parliament… who are deliberately serving Russian interests.” There are “official interventions, voting records.”[s]organized events and conducted covert operations,” the three senators wrote.

Adrian Vázquez Lazzara, head of the Judiciary Committee and a member of the Spanish parliament, called for a review process to determine what policies led to Judanoka’s reprieve so far.

“It would be intolerable if there were MPs paid by the Kremlin to destroy European democracies from within.” Lazara said on social media. “All connections between Russia and its satellites must be uncovered and pursued.”

Russia has long sought well-located assets in European countries, and Zhudanoka is by no means the only one. Estonian authorities have just arrested a professor on suspicion of spying for Russia. Last year, a former intelligence officer was sentenced to prison for passing classified information to Russia. In 2022, German authorities arrested a man from Germany’s foreign intelligence agency for sharing secrets with Russia. In 2017, a Hungarian member of the European Parliament was charged with spying in the EU on behalf of Russia. There are many other recent examples, from Austria to Poland.

Bill Evanina, former top U.S. counterintelligence official and director of the National Counterintelligence Security Center, told The Daily Beast that Zhdanoka’s military recruitment suspicions are not surprising for Russia.

“Russia spends a lot of time, effort, and resources recruiting members not only from NATO countries, but also from neighboring countries, intelligence services, and political organizations. Especially at lower levels, they believe they will rise through the ranks. Because there is.”

years in the making

Counterintelligence leaders frequently work to track who is vulnerable to possible recruitment from enemy intelligence services, including NATO countries. Evanina previously chaired the National Counterintelligence Policy Board and the Allied Security and Counterintelligence Forum, working with counterintelligence leaders from Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom on this very issue. Evanina also chaired the NATO Counterintelligence Panel.

Since Russia’s war in Ukraine began in 2022, European countries have collectively expelled about 400 Russian spies, according to MI6.

“When I was in my old role, part of my job was to lead NATO’s counterintelligence operations. We were always discussing conscription: What does it look like, who are they looking for, who is vulnerable?”

Thierry Monas/Getty Images

Mr. Judanoka represented Latvia in the European Parliament from 2004 to 2018 and from 2019 to the present.

However, an investigation by The Insider revealed that she was secretly communicating with two of her handlers behind the scenes. At first, she worked with a man named Dmitry Grady, but in 2013 her handlers seem to have changed. According to the investigation, Grady introduced her to a man using the alias “Sergei Krasin” in her email. Both were reportedly members of the Federal Security Service (FSB). In her communications, she sent information she referred to as “reports,” and at times she referred to the apparent mission of intelligence gathering as “promised information.”

In response to the allegations, she claimed to have met “thousands of people.” When asked for comment about her second handler, she admitted that she knew Grady, citing meetings in the 1970s, Insider reported.

“This document cannot be considered a question directed at me, because it is based on information that you should have, which by definition you should not have,” Zidanoka said. told Insider.

Zhdanoka has long supported pro-Russian views. She was one of the international observers of Russia’s 2014 “referendum” in Crimea. The referendum has been used by the Kremlin to justify its illegal annexation of Crimea. This process is widely considered to be illegal. In 2022, she was one of the few MEPs to vote against the European Parliament’s condemnation of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

on the radar

Counterintelligence officials have traditionally considered financial considerations, ego, ideology, or vulnerability to coercion as factors that motivate government officials to become spies. But modern spies take a slightly different approach, Evanina said.

“Today, recruiting has evolved and is a little different,” Evanina told The Daily Beast, adding that ideology is often the main factor these days.

“The activities and efforts of the Russian people push political and media discourse towards Russia’s best interests and frame it in every possible way: social dissonance, meetings, rallies, media articles. It’s amazing their ability to propel, to be transferred, to drive a small story that becomes a big story.”

Looking ahead, Evanina recommended that lawmakers in Europe and elsewhere consider improving the training they receive from intelligence agencies to combat recruitment, solicitation, cyber operations and honey traps.

Ms. Zidanoka currently enjoys immunity from prosecution by Congress, so it is not entirely clear what will happen to her.

Last year, parliament passed an amendment banning “persons and political groups with pro-Kremlin orientation.” European Parliament President Roberta Mezzola “takes these allegations very seriously and has referred the matter to the Advisory Committee on the Code of Conduct,” a presidential spokesperson said.

Judanoka’s fate also seems uncertain in Latvia. Last year, Latvia adopted new amendments that punish those who act against the Latvian state. The results are coming, warned Saeima deputy Maris Kuczynskis (United List). Kuczynskis told Latvian television this week: “The file on Tatiana Judanoka is very thick and will not remain without consequences.”

The Russians are probably furious and will be looking for a way to get rid of her. She is currently being burned and she will likely lose all her role in the FSB, Driek said. “But they’ll probably dump her girlfriend, she’s overexposed. She’s got a problem with how they treat her,” Doreek told The Daily Beast. “Her usefulness to the Russians has diminished.”

And for Russia, it may not matter much. Presumably, some other assets are already in operation and others are in development. Driek said Zidanoka likely helped identify other potential recruits.

“Russia is not carrying out an operation.” [the idea that] “Okay, I have it, you don’t have to look for it,” said Doreak. “They’d rather have 1,000 pieces. They’re trying to get them actively involved.”