London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Saturday, May 31, 2025

Half of Russian spies in Europe expelled since Ukraine invasion, says MI6 chief

Half of Russian spies in Europe expelled since Ukraine invasion, says MI6 chief

Richard Moore says 400 intelligence officers operating under diplomatic cover have been expelled
Half of all the Russian spies operating under diplomatic cover around Europe have been expelled since the start of the war in Ukraine, the chief of MI6 has told a US security conference.

Richard Moore, who heads British foreign intelligence, said the expulsions of about 400 Russian diplomats from countries in continental Europe, including France and Germany, had dramatically reduced the Kremlin’s espionage capabilities.

Speaking at the Aspen security conference, he said western intelligence agencies had made “pretty concerted” efforts to disrupt Russian spying networks since the invasion.

“So across Europe, roughly half – at last count something north of 400 Russian intelligence officers operating under diplomatic cover – have been expelled,” Moore said. “That’s probably reduced their ability to do their business to spy for Russia in Europe by half.”

It is the first time that MI6 has gone public with its estimate of the impact of the coordinated expulsions in response to the invasion in February. Although the figure of 400, across a wide range of nations, had been previously tallied, the proportion had not.

Russian spies, as with intelligence officers of almost every major country, typically pretend to be undertaking cover jobs at their country’s embassy. Only a handful of long-term spies – so-called illegals – pretend to be ordinary citizens, operating outside the diplomatic framework.

Germany kicked out 40 Russian diplomats in April, and France 41. Britain is one of the few countries not to have expelled any diplomats accused of spying, although that is largely because the UK told 23 to leave in 2018 in the aftermath of the Salisbury poisonings and it is not believed any have been replaced.

Moore said two illegals had been unmasked, including a Russian pretending to be Irish-Brazilian who had tried and failed to secure an internship at the international criminal court in The Hague in April. A Brazilian court has since sentenced Sergey Cherkasov to 15 years in jail for using false identity documents.

Moore said he believed the war in Ukraine was “a winnable campaign” for Kyiv and that Russia would “increasingly find it difficult to supply manpower and material over the next few weeks” as the war headed towards a critical phase before the weather turned.

The spy chief appeared to hint that Ukraine, with the support of growing quantities of western weapons, would attempt to stage a counterattack in the coming weeks. “It’s important, I think to the Ukrainians themselves, that they demonstrate their ability to strike back,” he said.

Moore said he agreed with his counterpart at the CIA, Bill Burns, that there was “no evidence that Putin is suffering from serious ill health”. There had been speculation in the early phases of the war that the Russian president had cancer or another serious illness, and had been taking steroids.

Moore also agreed with the CIA chief that China was not supplying Russia with weapons because Beijing was nervous about being hit with western economic sanctions, but he said he thought that “if they could provide weapons and get away with it, they would”.

He said China was “going into overdrive” to work out what lessons it could draw from the Ukraine war and the western response so far. “It’s too early to tell what lessons they will draw from Putin’s misadventures,” Moore said, and he repeated a previous warning that Beijing should not underestimate western resolve to protect Taiwan from any attempt at forced reunification.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Satirical Sketch Sparks Political Spouse Feud in South Korea
Indonesia Quarry Collapse Leaves Multiple Dead and Missing
South Korean Election Video Pulled Amid Misogyny Outcry
Asian Economies Shift Away from US Dollar Amid Trade Tensions
Netflix Investigates Allegations of On-Set Mistreatment in K-Drama Production
US Defence Chief Reaffirms Strong Ties with Singapore Amid Regional Tensions
Vietnam Faces Strategic Dilemma Over China's Mekong River Projects
Malaysia's First AI Preacher Sparks Debate on Islamic Principles
White House Press Secretary Criticizes Harvard Funding, Advocates for Vocational Training
France to Implement Nationwide Smoking Ban in Outdoor Spaces Frequented by Children
Meta and Anduril Collaborate on AI-Driven Military Augmented Reality Systems
Russia's Fossil Fuel Revenues Approach €900 Billion Since Ukraine Invasion
U.S. Justice Department Reduces American Bar Association's Role in Judicial Nominations
U.S. Department of Energy Unveils 'Doudna' Supercomputer to Advance AI Research
U.S. SEC Dismisses Lawsuit Against Binance Amid Regulatory Shift
Alcohol Industry Faces Increased Scrutiny Amid Health Concerns
Italy Faces Population Decline Amid Youth Emigration
U.S. Goods Imports Plunge Nearly 20% Amid Tariff Disruptions
OpenAI Faces Competition from Cheaper AI Rivals
Foreign Tax Provision in U.S. Budget Bill Alarms Investors
Trump Accuses China of Violating Trade Agreement
Gerry Adams Wins Libel Case Against BBC
Russia Accuses Serbia of Supplying Arms to Ukraine
EU Central Bank Pushes to Replace US Dollar with Euro as World’s Main Currency
Chinese Woman Dies After Being Forced to Visit Bank Despite Critical Illness
President Trump Grants Full Pardons to Reality TV Stars Todd and Julie Chrisley
Texas Enacts App Store Accountability Act Mandating Age Verification
U.S. Health Secretary Ends Select COVID-19 Vaccine Recommendations
Vatican Calls for Sustainable Tourism in 2025 Message
Trump Warns Putin Is 'Playing with Fire' Amid Escalating Ukraine Conflict
India and Pakistan Engage Trump-Linked Lobbyists to Influence U.S. Policy
U.S. Halts New Student Visa Interviews Amid Enhanced Security Measures
Trump Administration Cancels $100 Million in Federal Contracts with Harvard
SpaceX Starship Test Flight Ends in Failure, Mars Mission Timeline Uncertain
King Charles Affirms Canadian Sovereignty Amid U.S. Statehood Pressure
Trump Threatens 25% Tariff on iPhones Amid Dispute with Apple CEO
Putin's Helicopter Reportedly Targeted by Ukrainian Drones
Liverpool Car Ramming Incident Leaves Multiple Injured
Australia Faces Immigration Debate Following Labor Party Victory
Iranian Revolutionary Guard Founder Warns Against Trusting Regime in Nuclear Talks
Macron Dismisses Viral Video of Wife's Gesture as Playful Banter
Cleveland Clinic Study Questions Effectiveness of Recent Flu Vaccine
Netanyahu Accuses Starmer of Siding with Hamas
Junior Doctors Threaten Strike Over 4% Pay Offer
Labour MPs Urge Chancellor to Tax Wealthy Over Cutting Welfare
Publication of UK Child Poverty Strategy Delayed Until Autumn
France Detains UK Fishing Vessel Amid Post-Brexit Tensions
Calls Grow to Resume Syrian Asylum Claims in UK
Nigel Farage Pledges to Reinstate Winter Fuel Payments
Boris and Carrie Johnson Welcome Daughter Poppy
×