Another Russian Illegal Gets Unmasked

Western counterintelligence takes the gloves off as Russia’s aggression against Ukraine is turning into a wider war against the West

Illegals are traditionally the crème de la crème of Russian espionage, spies operating abroad without any benefit of cover. Going back to the early Soviet era, the Cheka’s glory days of hoary legend, Illegals represent the tip of the Kremlin’s spy-spear, an elite cadre of operatives who face prison if caught, since they lack the diplomatic immunity enjoyed by Russian intelligence officers masquerading as diplomats and related Russian officials.

That Illegals might not be quite as elite anymore as they were in the KGB era has become obvious during the 23 years of Vladimir Putin’s presidency. The FBI’s 2010 rollup of ten Illegals belonging Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service, or SVR, termed Operation GHOST STORIES, wasn’t just an astounding counterintelligence success, it implied that Kremlin Illegals had lost some of their traditional luster.

That case got stronger this week with the arrest of another Russian Illegal in Norway, which has recently been a hotbed of Kremlin spying. Moscow’s interest in Norway is perennially high, given that Nordic country’s geographic position, including a 120-mile border with Russia, plus Oslo’s key role in NATO. Since the start of Putin’s renewed aggression against Ukraine in late February, Russian intelligence has gone into overdrive against its Nordic neighbor, not just the SVR but also Russian military intelligence or GRU, to the extent that the head of Norway’s Police Security Service, the PST, Oslo’s counterintelligence agency, recently issued a rare public warning regarding the Kremlin’s rising spy threat.

Last week, the PST arrested four Russian nationals, three men and a woman, in the country’s north, which is close to Russia as well as home to several sensitive military installations. While the four claimed to be tourists, Norwegian authorities found an unusual amount of expensive camera equipment, and photos, in the group’s possession. Within a matter of days, two more Russians were detained for suspected espionage, including 47-year-old Andrei Yakunin, who was caught flying a drone at Svalbard, an archipelago in the Arctic Ocean which possesses high strategic value to NATO. Russians are forbidden from flying drones in Norwegian airspace, moreover Yakunin just happens to be the son of Vladimir Yakunin, a former KGB officer and Russian businessman plus a close associate of President Putin, who was sanctioned by the U.S. Government after Moscow’s 2014 theft of Crimea.