- CIA releases third video in recruitment campaign targeting disaffected Russian officials and elites, successfully establishing contact with potential sources inside Russia.
- Previous campaigns garnered over 2.1 million views across various online platforms, aiming to raise awareness about the CIA’s mission and connect with potential sources.
- Kremlin dismisses CIA’s campaign, stating intelligence agencies worldwide use media and social networks for recruitment, while emphasizing the larger audience on Russian social media network VKontakte. CIA’s recruitment coincides with ongoing war in Ukraine.
Additional Coverage:
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has released a third video as part of its campaign to recruit disaffected Russian officials and elites. According to U.S. intelligence officials, this virtual recruitment effort has been successful in establishing contact with potential sources inside Russia. Speaking at the International Spy Museum in Washington, D.C., CIA Deputy Director David Cohen described the video as a pitch to dissatisfied individuals in Russia who envision a better future and stated that the agency can help them achieve it if they work for the CIA.
A CIA spokesperson revealed that the previous two campaigns launched in 2022 and 2023 had garnered over 2.1 million views across various online platforms, including Telegram, Facebook, Instagram, and X. The agency aims not only to raise awareness about the CIA’s mission and history but also to directly connect with potential sources. However, the spokesperson declined to provide specific details about the response or the resources required for producing the videos.
The latest video, accompanied by instrumental music, features a fictional Russian official who quotes Tolstoy and expresses his desire for a better future in Russia for his son. The video concludes with instructions for securely contacting the CIA online. The CIA spokesperson clarified that all the videos feature actors and depict fictional scenarios.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov dismissed the CIA’s recruitment campaign, stating that intelligence agencies worldwide often use media and social networks for recruitment purposes. Peskov also downplayed the impact of the videos being posted on major American platforms like X (formerly Twitter), which is banned in Russia. He pointed out that VKontakte, a Russian social media network, has a much larger audience.
The CIA’s recruitment campaign coincides with the ongoing war in Ukraine, which is about to enter its third year with little progress on the front lines. Additionally, U.S. military aid to Kyiv has faced delays due to a political battle in Congress. CIA Director William Burns has referred to the conflict as a “once-in-a-generation” opportunity for recruitment in Russia. Burns has emphasized the agency’s openness to potential sources and has visited Kyiv multiple times since the Russian invasion in 2022.