Kiev’s spies posed as US think-tank staff – FSB

Ukrainian spooks allegedly pretended to be RAND Corporation employees while attempting to source classified information from Russian servicemen

Ukrainian intelligence services have reportedly been posing as members of a renowned US think tank to recruit intel sources in Russia, the Federal Security Service (FSB) has claimed. Kiev’s operatives were trying to get Russian military personnel to disclose classified information, according to the agency.

In a report issued on Thursday, the FSB stated that it had received information that Ukrainian spies have been posing as representatives of the Research and Development (RAND) Corporation and using messengers to contact Russian citizens connected with the military.

They reportedly offered money in exchange for classified information on the Russian Air Force's use of strategic aviation and the number and deployments of forces involved in the Ukraine conflict.

The FSB also published an audio recording and screenshots of several exchanges between its agents and alleged Ukrainian operatives. In the messages, Kiev’s spies introduced themselves as employees of the CIS Countries department of the Eastern Europe Center of the RAND Corporation branch, called RAND Europe. They attempted to confirm their affiliation with the organization by providing information about Hans Pung, the director of RAND Europe.

In the messages, the Ukrainians offered to pay for information in any currency, including crypto and through online wallets or international banks. 

“We are interested in first-hand and truthful information concerning the [special military operation]. Most of all we are interested in documentary evidence of certain events,” the operatives wrote.

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RAND was originally established in 1948 as a joint project between the US Army Air Force and the Douglas Aircraft Company, with the goal of carrying out long-range planning for future weapons. The scope of the project was later expanded into civilian fields such as education and international affairs, and it became the first organization to be referred to as a “think tank.”

As noted by the FSB, the main declared area of activity of RAND currently is to promote scientific, educational, and charitable activities in the interests of public welfare and US national security, the development and identification of strategic problems and the development of concepts. However, most of RAND’s research connected to US security is classified.

In 2023, Moscow officially listed RAND as a foreign non-governmental organization whose activities are considered “undesirable” on the territory of Russia.