After the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) released a video with an appeal to Russians, the Kremlin announced that its agents were monitoring the activities of Western spies, writes Reuters.
The short video was accompanied by text in Russian that said the CIA wanted information from military officers, intelligence specialists, diplomats, scientists, and individuals with access to information about the Russian economy and government leaders. The CIA urged: “Contact us. Perhaps the people around you don’t want to hear the truth. We want to.”
Almost 15 months after the violent invasion of Moscow began, the video asks Russians to take a huge risk. Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned his allies to beware of traitors, and
the penalty for treason was increased from 20 years in prison to life in prison in April.
The video published on the CIA’s official YouTube channel and Telegram talks about the true meaning of heroism and endurance: “We are easily swayed by lies. But we do know what our reality is. The reality we live in. And the reality we talk about in whisper.” The accompanying text states that the system for anonymous communication on the Internet – Tor – will be used for communication.
Kremlin representative Dmitry Peskov said that he did not pay attention to the video, but added that the Russian special services are definitely aware of the matter: “We all know perfectly well that the CIA and other Western intelligence services are not reducing their activity on the territory of our country.”
Some Russian citizens have already reacted skeptically to the video published on social networks, stating that it looks like a provocation by the Russian security services.
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