“We are seeing more outreach from the Russians as a result of these videos,” said a CIA official who requested anonymity.
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“If it wasn't a success, we wouldn't be in video number three.”
The CIA had previously produced videos in this effort.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, a former KGB spy who served in East Germany, called on Russia's internal security service (FSB) to step up its activity to counter what he said was increasing spying by the West.
The Kremlin says everything is being done to ensure that the Russian military has the equipment it needs to succeed in what Moscow calls its “special military operation” in Ukraine.
It has dismissed many corruption allegations as false, and ignored the video released by the CIA.
“As you know, this practice is very common. Intelligence agencies around the world often use the media and social networks to recruit new employees. They do it all the time,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday. “The CIA does it all the time.” general”.
The CIA distributed the video on Facebook, X, and Telegram, a messaging app and social network popular in Russia.
Peskov noted that the CIA was wasting its time trying to reach Russians via X, which is banned in Russia and can only be accessed using a virtual private network, many of which are also blocked. Facebook is also banned in Russia.
“Someone should tell the CIA that VKontakte in our country (the Russian social network) is much more popular than the banned X. And the VKontakte audience is much larger,” Peskov said.
Reuters
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