Tag: putin’s
Russian ‘spy’ who worked for MI6 & met King Charles accused of sharing ‘top-secret military docs with Putin’s cronies’
A REFUGEE from Afghanistan who has been accused of spying for Russia also worked for MI6, a court heard today.
The alleged spy was stripped of British citizenship in 2019, after MI5 agents accused him of being an agent for GRU, the Russian military intelligence agency.
An alleged Russian spy has claimed that he was working for MI6[/caption]
The accused, C2, has claimed that he then went on to work for GCHQ in 2006 – the same year that Litvinenko was poisoned[/caption]
C2 also claims he was working for the Foreign Office in Afghanistan – where he met several members of the royal family[/caption]
The British government has argued that letting him back into the country would pose a national security risk, The Times reports.
The accused, named only as C2, denies the allegations that he has been groomed into becoming a Russian spy since he was a child.
He says he is neither an agent, nor a risk to national security, and has been appealing against the decision to strip him of his British citizenship.
C2 was granted asylum in the UK in 2000, after claiming that his family was under threat from the Mujahideen.
On his application, he claimed that he had only lived in Afghanistan – omitting that he had lived in Russia for six years.
He had sent me and I had sent him naked pictures of women
C2
C2 admitted to the court that he had lied on his asylum application, but maintained that this was out of fear of being deported.
The court heard how the alleged spy had spent his childhood under the Soviet regime in Afghanistan, before he paid a smuggler to take him into Russia in 1994.
He proceeded to settle in Russia, studied the language, the country, and even married a Russian citizen.
In 2000, after obtaining a fake Russian passport and a Caribbean holiday package that connected through Heathrow, he arrived in the UK.
Upon landing, he handed himself into immigration officials and claimed asylum.
After being granted exceptional leave to remain, C2 claims he went on to work for GCHQ, MI6, the Ministry of Defence, and the Home Office.
He is thought to have worked with two separate Prime Ministers, David Cameron and Gordon Brown, and to have met members of the royal family.
The court heard that the alleged spy began working as a self-employed interpreter for several public bodies – which included the courts, the Home Office, and eventually GCHQ in 2006.
In the same year C2 claims to have been employed by GCHQ, the British government accused Russia of poisoning Alexander Litvinenko.
Litvinenko died shortly after, and the UK government responded by expelling Russian intelligence officers.
C2 claims that he was rigorously searched before beginning this role, but the government denies this. They have denied to confirm whether he was ever employed by any of the security services.
In the late 2000s, C2 moved to Afghanistan to work for the UK’s Foreign Office.
From diplomats to troops, all the way up and down, everyone was fishing for information and knowledge
C2
It was during this period that he met senior politicians and members of the royal family – like Prince Harry and Prince William.
C2 also claims that a member of ISI, the Pakistani intelligence services, attempted to recruit him whilst he was working for the Foreign Office.
He claims: “I could see that he was fishing for information, seeking to find out what weapons we used and what would be handed over to the Afghan government.”
After leaving his role at the Foreign Office, C2 stayed on in Afghanistan – working a variety of jobs that required close contact with Russian officials.
Not only did the alleged spy visit Russia on several occasions, but he also admitted to the court that he had passed cash bribes to two Russian military members – who were later revealed to be GRU operatives.
Russian ‘spy’ timeline
1994 C2 leaves the Soviet regime in Afghanistan and enters Russia.
Late 1990s He studies in Russia, learns the language, marries a Russian woman, and becomes naturalised as a Russian.
2000 Leaves Russia on a fake passport and fake terms. C2 claims he has fled directly from Afghanistan.
C2 is granted leave to remain in the UK
Early 2000s C2 begins working as a self-employed interpreter for the courts, the police, and the Home Office.
2006 C2 is employed by GCHQ.
The British government accuses Russia of poisoning Alexander Litvinenko.
Russian intelligence officers are expelled from UK.
Late 2000s C2 begins working for the Foreign Office in Afghanistan.
C2 meets Gordon Brown, David Cameron, Prince Harry and Prince William.
A Pakistani intelligence agency attempts to recruit him.
2010s C2 leaves the Foreign Office, but stays on in Afghanistan.
2019 C2 is stripped of his citizenship after being accused of spying for Russia
2021 British security services begins a formal investigation into C2’s relationship with Russia
C2 also admitted to having met an official in the Russian Foreign Ministry.
He revealed that they often chatted, saying: “He had sent me and I had sent him naked pictures of women.”
He said that it was common practice to pay intermediaries involved in deals. This, he described as “unofficial accounting”.
The alleged spy claims that he never suspected any of his Russian contacts to have been Russian intelligence officers.
He told the court: “Afghanistan was at war. From diplomats to troops, all the way up and down, everyone was fishing for information and knowledge.”
C2 continued to work in Afghanistan until Kabul fell – during which, British security services had begun to question his relationship with Russia.
In court, C2’s barrister Robert Palmer KC argued that his client had put his life at risk while working for the Foreign Office in Afghanistan.
Palmer denied that C2 was a risk to national security, instead saying that he had a “track record of loyalty to the UK”.
Kyiv’s forces retake key territory near Bakhmut as Wagner chief says Putin’s conscripts ‘fleeing’
Moment Brit envoy storms out of UN meeting as Putin’s ‘kid catcher’ wanted for abduction of Ukrainian children speaks
THIS is the moment diplomats from the UK and other countries stormed out of a UN meeting as a Russian mum branded “Putin’s child catcher” spoke.
Ex-music teacher Maria Lvova-Belova, 38, is wanted on war crimes charges by the International Criminal Court – accused of abducting children from Ukraine and sending them to Russia.
Several ambassadors left the room as Marie Lvova-Belova, top right of screen, started speaking[/caption]
Vladimir Putin and his ‘child catcher’ Lvova-Belova[/caption]
She demanded an informal UN meeting to focus on “evacuating children from conflict zones”.
But Britain and the US blocked the informal conference from being webcast by the UN.
Diplomats from the countries and from Malta and Albania promptly left the room as Lvova-Belova started speaking to UN Security Council members by video.
US ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, said the US joined Britain in blocking the webcast so Lvova-Belova did not have “an international podium to spread disinformation and to try to defend her horrible actions that are taking place in Ukraine”.
After returning to the room after Lvova-Belova had spoken, British diplomat Asima Ghazi-Bouillon told the meeting: “Russia claims it is protecting these children.
“Instead this is a calculated policy that seeks to erase Ukrainian identity and statehood.”
During her statement, Lvova-Belova showed footage of Ukrainian children in Russia, then said: “I want to stress that unlike the Ukrainian side, we don’t use children for propaganda.”
The ICC last month issued arrest warrants for Lvova-Belova and Vladimir Putin over their alleged involvement in the abductions of children from Ukraine.
A panel of judges agreed that there were “reasonable grounds” to believe that Vlad and his children’s rights commissioner bore responsibility for the “unlawful deportation” of Ukrainian children.
An investigation by The Sun into Ukraine’s missing children back in September revealed that thousands of children have been deported during Putin’s invasion.
Ukraine’s human rights chief, Dmytro Lubinets, has said 16,226 children were deported and the country has managed to bring back just 308 of them.
Footage meanwhile emerged of Lvova-Belova bragging as she talked about taking a boy from Ukraine during a meeting with Putin.
Since being appointed Putin’s children’s commissioner in 2021, she has portrayed the forced deportation of Ukrainian children as a Russian rescue mission.
She has adopted 18 children and also five biological kids with her husband, a Russian Orthodox priest.
Russia’s UN ambassador Vassily Nebenzia said last month that the informal meeting had been planned long before the ICC announcement.
He said it was not intended to be a rebuttal of the charges against Putin and Lvova-Belova.
Diplomats have said it is rare for a UN webcast to be blocked.
Lvova-Belova had demanded an informal UN meeting to focus on ‘evacuating children from conflict zones’[/caption]
The ICC last month issued arrest warrants for Lvova-Belova and Putin[/caption]
The total collapse and break-up of Putin’s Russia has already begun, top Zelensky official predicts
‘Vulkan Files’ Leak Reveals Putin’s Global and Domestic Cyberwarfare Tactics
Thousands of pages of secret documents reveal how Vulkan’s engineers have worked for Russian military and intelligence agencies to support hacking operations, train operatives before attacks on national infrastructure, spread disinformation and control sections of the internet. The company’s work is linked to the federal security service or FSB, the domestic spy agency; the operational and intelligence divisions of the armed forces, known as the GOU and GRU; and the SVR, Russia’s foreign intelligence organization.
One document links a Vulkan cyber-attack tool with the notorious hacking group Sandworm, which the US government said twice caused blackouts in Ukraine, disrupted the Olympics in South Korea and launched NotPetya, the most economically destructive malware in history. Codenamed Scan-V, it scours the internet for vulnerabilities, which are then stored for use in future cyber-attacks. Another system, known as Amezit, amounts to a blueprint for surveilling and controlling the internet in regions under Russia’s command, and also enables disinformation via fake social media profiles. A third Vulkan-built system — Crystal-2V — is a training program for cyber-operatives in the methods required to bring down rail, air and sea infrastructure. A file explaining the software states: “The level of secrecy of processed and stored information in the product is ‘Top Secret’.”
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Inside Putin’s ‘dinner of luxuries’ including venison & pavlova he shared with President Xi in bid to woo Chinese leader
VLADIMIR Putin feasted on a luxurious meal with Chinese leader Xi Jinping after the two leaders met to discuss a potential peace deal in Ukraine.
The two despots enjoyed a lavish dinner after they held one-to-one talks on Monday discussing the relationship between their countries ahead of peace talks this week.
The two leaders met on Monday to discuss a potential peace deal[/caption]
Putin who appeared twitchy during the meeting sat down for a meal with Xi, which included traditional Russian dishes.
The menu started blini with quail and mushrooms- a type of Eastern European pancake made from buckwheat flour or wheat.
The meal continued with a sterlet sturgeon soup, followed by a pomegranate sorbet.
Next was an Arctic fish called nelma with vegetables, and venison with cherry sauce.
The two leaders ended their meal with pavlova for dessert.
The dishes were accompanied by wines from Russia’s southern Krasnodar region.
The Russian leader’s palace is believed to be in the region- it was Putin’s secret hideaway before it was exposed by a whistleblower in 2010.
Xi was the first leader to meet the Russian president since The International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Putin over his alleged involvement in the abductions of children from Ukraine.
Moscow said the charge was one of several “clearly hostile displays” and opened a criminal case against the ICC prosecutor and judges.
Beijing said the warrant reflected double standards.
The two men warmly greeted one another when as Xi arrived in Moscow with Putin calling him “dear friend.”
Putin said: “In recent years, China has made a tremendous leap forward in its development.
“It arouses genuine interest all over the world, and even we envy you a little.”
The Chinese leader is expected to put forward proposals for ending the war in Ukraine.
But so far Beijing hasn’t offered any concrete proposals beyond the 12-point peace plan to end the Ukraine war.
Putin told his guest “we will discuss your initiative which we view with respect” and that “we are open for a negotiating process on Ukraine”.
The Russian president then praised Xi’s “balanced approach” to the war.
Xi in turn praised Putin and told him he was “convinced” he enjoyed the Russian people’s support ahead of next year’s presidential elections.
Xi said: “I know Russia will hold a presidential election.
“Under your strong leadership, Russia has made great strides in its prosperous development.
“I am confident that the Russian people will continue to give you their firm support.”
The Kremlin has welcomed the Chinese peace plan and said it would be discussed talks between Putin and Xi that will begin over dinner on Monday.
The proposal would see an end to sanctions on Russia, Ukraine giving up territory and NATO pulling back from its eastern frontiers.
But Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has said he will only consider peace talks after all Russian troops completely leave his country’s territory.
It comes after Putin made a shock visit to the occupied Ukrainian city of Mariupol meeting with residents during his first visit to Ukraine since the start of the Russian invasion in February last year.
‘Rent- a-Kents’ close business, after Prince said he would make representations to Putin’s regime
Putin’s nemesis ex-president of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili says he’s ‘approaching death’ after being poisoned in jail
FORMER Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili is “close to death” after allegedly being poisoned in prison.
He’s considered a personal enemy of Russian President Vladimir Putin, raising further concerns about his health as many of Putin’s enemies have mysteriously fallen ill.
He’s been a fierce opponent of Vladimir Putin for decades[/caption]
Recent photos show him in a poorly condition after losing a huge amount of weight[/caption]
The worsening of his health comes only days after massive protests in Tbilisi[/caption]
Reports of the pro-EU leader’s state have been unveiled only days after protests erupted in Tbilisi after a bill which many claimed was “pro-Russia” was drafted.
Former President Saakashvili has been in prison since 2018, when he was jailed for “abuse of power”.
A Georgian MP said: “We do hope his death won’t happen and his needs are properly addressed.”
His family raised concerns about a possible poisoning in late 2022 after heavy metals and arsenic were detected in his tests.
Georgian authorities deny Saakashvili has been poisoned, with current ruling party in Georgia claiming his ailment is caused by “refusal to eat enough food”.
Saakashvili previously maintained a 50 day hunger strike to oppose his prison term.
Saakashvili told Sky News: “I was initially 120 kilogrammes, now I am 64, if I become less than 60 doctors predict multiple organ failure.
“I am in bed all the time, my bones are disintegrating and it gives excruciating pain.”
His lawyer has said he looks “like a prisoner in a concentration camp in Nazi Germany”.
Tests of his fingernail clippings revealed high levels of arsenic and heavy metals, leading many to believe he was poisoned.
Despite his ailing health, Saakashvili sent a message to the protestors rallying against the pro-Russian law drafted in recent weeks.
Under the bill, non-government groups and media would be targeted if they take over 20% of funding from abroad.
Saakashvili urged Georgians to stay vigilant: “And be ready to mobilise at short notice, because of the vengeful mood of the oligarchs’ regime.”
The bill has been met with fierce opposition, with many claiming it is anti-democratic and will hinder Georgia’s admission into the European Union.
Last month, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for Saakashvili’s release.
He said: “Ukrainian citizen, former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili is being slowly killed.
“I urge the world to help save his life and prevent his execution.”
Putin previously said he would “hang Saakashvili by his balls” in 2008 following Russia’s invasion of Georgia.
Saakashvili’s lawyer told CNN: “People forget that in 2008 Putin did what he is doing now to Ukraine to Georgia – under cover of darkness he invaded Georgia.
“And just like President Zelenskyy is doing today in Ukraine, Saakashvili stood up and fought back, and because of this the Kremlin and Putin specifically became his arch-nemesis, number one enemy.”
Putin has been accused of poisoning and other instruments of murder against his enemies in the past.
At least eight prominent critics of Putin and his regime are suspected to have been poisoned after being becoming ill in mysterious circumstances.
At the centre of Russia’s poison arsenal is the mysterious “Lab X”, which has been operating for 100 years.
Many of the mysterious poisonings have been linked to the Lab, which remains shrouded in mystery.
Ex-Ukrainian president Viktor Yushchenko was famously poisoned in 2004, leaving his face permanently disfigured.
Russian officials claimed the illness was probably caused by bad food and too much alcohol but doctors detected traces of dioxin, which is the toxic chemical used in Agent Orange, in his blood.
The effects of the chemical distorted Yushchenko’s face which was also partially paralysed in the attack.
Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko was murdered after seeking political asylum in England[/caption]
The Kremlin critic is “close to death”[/caption]
He returned to his native Georgia in 2021, and was immediately jailed[/caption]
His ribs can be clearly seen as he’s lost nearly 50kg[/caption]
Police and protestors clashed in the past week in a fight for Georgia’s future in the EU[/caption]
Violent protests have been ongoing in Georgia following the foreign agents bill[/caption]