“They are part of a large toolbox of intelligence gathering that has helped Russia destroy key materiel with minimum investment." The approach—low-cost and low-risk for Moscow’s spy services—allows Russia to stoke anti-Western sentiment and reap potentially important intelligence while letting their recruits take the fall. After each job, Andrzej paid him in bitcoin or Ethereum. He spoke with Leha in both Russian and Ukrainian, but Leha assumed he was Ukrainian from his colloquial use of the language. For Leha’s last job, Andrzej paired him with Artem Averba, a 19-year-old Ukrainian refugee.

Source: Wall Street Journal May 14, 2024 11:29 UTC