Moscow initially threw an FSB general into prison, whom it accused of failing to wage war against Ukraine, but has now released him to make it appear that everything is “going according to plan.”
Vladimir Putin took away from the FSB the role of the main spy agency in the war against Ukraine . Now the GRU will deal with this task. In particular, the first deputy head of the department, Vladimir Alekseev, has been appointed responsible for intelligence gathering. CEPA researchers Irina Borogan and Andrei Soldatov write in their report. They note that Alekseev has been responsible for Russia's most serious attacks in the West over the past decade. In particular, in the UK and the EU he was accused of organizing a chemical attack in Salisbury in 2018. The United States has also imposed sanctions on him for cyber-interference in the 2016 US election campaign.
The first public mention of such changes was on the Kremlin-loyal Constantinople TV channel in a special program entitled “Generals of Victory: Who is Responsible for the Russian Special Operation?” There were talks on the air about Russian military commanders who must finally achieve their tasks in Ukraine. Everyone already knew about some of them. For example, about General Alexander Dvornikov, who was assigned to command the entire war against Ukraine last month. But Alekseev's name has never been mentioned in this context before.
Read also: The war will last not years, but months – expert
The authors note that this is an important change. Until now, the fifth FSB service was engaged in reconnaissance in Ukraine. It was she who provided Putin with information before the invasion. But the beginning of the war failed catastrophically. Western intelligence has published Russia's secret plans. And Russian-speaking Ukrainians did not support the Russian occupiers, although the FSB assured Putin. The head of the fifth service, Sergei Beseda, was arrested and thrown into Lefortovo prison.
Alekseev belongs to a special type of Russian military intelligence officers. He began his career in the Special Forces, not working at a Russian embassy in the West. His task in the GRU was to manage the 14th department, under whose control the “special forces” are. In 2011, Alekseev became the GRU's first deputy. The promotion of such officers was a new approach introduced by Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu in 2012. Alekseev and his entourage became the new face of government, which the minister wanted to expand as soon as possible. But where to get staff for the new GRU? Alekseev began to look for personnel among the special forces. They did not have the fine skills of scouts. But they were strong fighters, ready to kill.
Alekseev took part in Russian hostilities in Syria and Donbas. Other Russian officers say he is cruel and reckless. His appointment to a new role in the war against Ukraine took place against the backdrop of mysterious and unexpected news about the Conversation. Having lost his loyalty to the Kremlin, he became a convenient scapegoat in Moscow. The military and even other FSB departments accused Beseda and his men of misinforming Putin, which laid the groundwork for military failure. Large sums of money spent on bribing people in Ukraine have been stolen. There were reports that Beseda was locked up for many years in solitary confinement in Lefortovo, where Stalin once held his repressed party members.
But two weeks ago, pro-Kremlin media reported that Beseda was seen at the funeral of KGB General Nikolai Leonov. He even gave a speech there. At the same time, the press called him the current head of the fifth service of the FSB. Although there were no photos in the publications. The purpose of such information intrusions is obvious – to downplay or even dispel the news of the fall of the Conversation. The authors note that they turned to their sources in the Russian secret services. It turned out that Beseda was seen in his office in Lubyanka. It was strange and completely unprecedented. Maybe Stalin could throw his generals in jail and then get them out.
Read also: Russia continues to send conscripts to Ukraine for war – intelligence
However, the authors note that there is a certain logic in the Kremlin's behavior. Putin insists that the war against Ukraine “goes according to plan.” So he needs to behave accordingly. Its audience is not a society controlled by propaganda, but Russian elites. These are bureaucrats in the capital and abroad, including the army and special services. In private conversations, they began to question Putin's strategy. So he needs to convince them that everything is really going according to plan. The arrest of the main spy who was involved in Ukraine says the opposite. This is proof that Russian intelligence has failed. That's why Putin is trying to pretend that nothing happened to Beseda. However, the fact that the head of the fifth FSB service is returning to his office does not mean that Putin trusts him or the FSB in general. And Alekseev's appointment clearly states this.
See the special topic: Germany is gradually reopening the embassy in Kyiv while it operates in a limited format. ZSU liberated four settlements in Kharkiv region The greatest activity of the occupiers is observed in Slobozhansky and Donetsk directions. The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine has warned about the increased level of terrorist threat in Transnistria Mobilization measures are not being held in the region. Russian invasion of Ukraine: map of hostilities as of May 10 The Armed Forces of Ukraine are conducting a counteroffensive in Kherson, Zaporizhia and Kharkiv regions. Russian soldiers stop trusting commanders and think about refusing to take part in the war against Ukraine – SBU Russians invent options for revenge against commanders for contempt.
