Russia uses Serbian agent to infiltrate EU bodies - Politico
Kyiv • UNN
Russian intelligence is using a Serbian agent to infiltrate EU institutions and spread pro-Kremlin theories about the invasion of Ukraine.
There is a new spy scandal in the European Parliament. Western intelligence has exposed a Serbian activist and politician who worked for the Russian secret service and met with members of the European Parliament, the latter in the fall of 2023. This is stated in an intelligence briefing, Politico reports, according to UNN.
Details
It is noted that in October 2023, Serbian citizen Novica Antic was an active "agent of influence" who, according to the documents, deliberately worked closely with Russian special services, met with European officials in Brussels and, in particular, with members of the European Parliament.
Among the MEPs were German Green lawmaker Viola von Cramon-Taubadel, Italian Socialists and Democrats lawmaker Alessandra Moretti, and Slovakian member of the conservative European People's Party group Vladimir Bilcik. There is nothing in the policy brief to suggest that Moretti, Bilcik and von Cramon-Taubadel knew about Antic's ties to the FSB when they met with him.
Antić, head of the Serbian Military Trade Union, also met with representatives of EUROMIL and EPSU, which represent the interests of military and civil service employees in the EU, respectively.
According to a Western intelligence briefing, Antic is an active "agent of influence" for the FSB. Antic works closely with FSB officer Vyacheslav Kalinin, a Russian citizen and editor-in-chief of Veteran News, a media website specializing in news for armed forces veterans. The website's "About Us" tab states that Veteran News is an "information partner" of the FSB and the Russian Ministry of Defense, as well as other Russian security agencies.
The intelligence report emphasizes Antic's actions, but at the same time states that Kalinin recruited other people, without specifying how many and in which countries.
Addendum
Russia is using Serbia as a springboard for influence operations aimed at weakening pro-European and pro-NATO sentiment within the country, as well as in the EU, which has been strongly supporting Ukraine since Russia's full-scale invasion.
Antic used his role as the head of Serbia's military alliance to criticize Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and high-ranking members of the country's armed forces.
They used every opportunity to promote Russian propaganda related to the war in Ukraine,
Recall
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