Intelligence chief: Russian spy ring had ‘source’ in France

LE PECQ, France — The French chief of counterintelligence has given new details about a Russian spy ring broken up by France in the wake of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, saying the six intelligence agents were caught red-handed interacting with a source on French soil. Lerner described the unmasking of the Russian agents as “one of the most significant counter-intelligence operations carried out by the DGSI in recent decades.” The six intelligence officers were “caught in the act of treating with a source on the national territory” and expelled, Lerner said, without giving more details. France’s interior minister, Gérald Darmanin, also made no mention of a French source for the spies in his tweet last April that hailed the “remarkable counterespionage operation” by the DGSI which “obstructed a network of Russian clandestine agents.” A week prior to those expulsions, as the horrors of war crimes committed by Russian forces in Bucha, Ukraine, were coming to light, France also expelled 35 Russian diplomats. In each Western country, several dozen officers — their number has diminished significantly since the start of the Ukraine crisis — from the three Russian intelligence services carry out intelligence and interference actions under diplomatic cover.” He added that China also “maintains a network under diplomatic cover that is much less developed than Russia’s.” Lerner suggested to lawmakers that they also should be on their guard about the risk of intelligence agents seeking to ensnare them.