Unprecedented Infiltration of Russian Spies in Calm Western Countries After the Outbreak of War in Ukraine

"None of the residents of the calm and pleasant neighborhood could imagine that Russian spies were living next door"; this sentence begins most of the reports that Western media have published these days about Russian spies. Under the scrutiny of Western security forces, these male and female spies, who are often married with several children and appear to have stable jobs and a 'completely ordinary' life, lose their fabricated identities; identities for which millions of dollars are spent. However, it eventually becomes clear that these seemingly ordinary men and women are actually agents of Russian intelligence agencies who coordinate and execute propaganda campaigns, sabotage operations, and even assassinations of Kremlin opponents in the U.S. and allied countries. The latest report from the Wall Street Journal reveals the case of 'Maria Rosa Meyer Munoz' and 'Ludwig Gish,' who were identified as Argentine citizens residing in Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia, before their arrest. FBI Director's warning about the active presence of a 'very large' number of Russian spies in America. Maria ostensibly owned an art gallery, and her husband, Ludwig, had a computer services office; their two children were students at an international school. But according to Western security sources, everything about these individuals' lives was based on lies. 'Ludwig' is actually Artem Viktorovich Dolgov, a senior officer of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service, and 'Maria,' whose real name is Anna Valeryovna Dolgova, holds an even higher rank in the same intelligence agency than her husband. Inside the couple's refrigerator, a box containing hundreds of thousands of euros was hidden, and their computer was equipped with a special communication system that Western engineers have not yet been able to decrypt. Reports indicate that the mission of these Russian spies dates back to 12 years ago when they entered Argentina with tourist visas from Uruguay. Ludwig immediately approached the immigration office claiming that his mother was Argentine, but he himself was born in Namibia and was an Austrian citizen, requesting Argentine citizenship. Maria also claimed to be born in Greece and a citizen of Mexico; she applied for Argentine citizenship a year after her husband and simultaneously with the birth of their daughter, Sofia. Two years later, their son, Daniel, was born. After five years of 'calm and ordinary' life in Argentina, the family traveled to Slovenia on a tourist visa and received permanent residency in that country two years later. According to findings from Western security agencies, these Russian spies used Slovenia as a base for transferring cash and messages from Moscow and strengthening the Russian espionage network across Europe; a country that is a member of the European Union and NATO, yet relatively remote from Brussels and lacking powerful counter-intelligence agencies. Since 2022, coinciding with the onset of Russia's extensive military invasion of Ukraine, the real mission of these spies began. They were reportedly tasked with obtaining internal information from the Energy Agency, the only significant EU entity based in Ljubljana. The Slovenian intelligence agency known as 'SOVA' monitored this 'Argentine' family by receiving information from the security agencies of allied countries. In early December 2022, this couple was arrested, and shortly thereafter, Russia requested the Slovenian government to return these agents of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service to Moscow. Although reports indicate that the Slovenian government was willing to accept this request, the negotiations ultimately did not yield results. The two arrested Russian spies have now been in detention for 18 months, awaiting trial behind closed doors. Reports suggest that they are potential candidates for exchange with foreign citizens detained in Russian prisons, among whom is the name of Evan Gershkovich, a Wall Street Journal reporter. The couple's children, who are said to have been raised to continue their parents' activities, are currently living under the supervision of child protection authorities with another family. According to the Wall Street Journal, shortly after the morning raid by security forces on Maria and Ludwig's home in Slovenia, two other Russian suspects – a man and woman with the same names and Greek and Brazilian passports – suddenly disappeared from their homes and lives in Athens and Rio de Janeiro, abandoning their businesses and romantic partners who were unaware of their true identities. They were, in fact, a Russian intelligence couple who were separately playing roles and advancing their fabricated life stories in Greece and Brazil; a process that, according to estimates from Western intelligence agencies, required millions of dollars for each of them. An archival photo of Evan Gershkovich, a Wall Street Journal reporter detained in Russia on charges of 'espionage.' According to Western security agents, following the arrests in Slovenia, they were immediately called back to Moscow by their handlers for fear of further collapse of the Russian espionage network. Reports suggest that the deployment of spies disguised as 'ordinary citizens' dates back to the early days of the Bolshevik government. During World War II and especially in the early years of the Cold War, Russian spies without diplomatic status in the U.S. and Europe sought advanced technologies, including the latest nuclear discoveries. A glimpse of the activities of KGB undercover agents during that time is depicted in the famous television series 'The Americans.' The arrest of 10 people on charges of long-term espionage for Russia in the U.S. in 2010 showed that the activities of Russian spies without diplomatic cover had never ceased. According to estimates from Western sources, after the expulsion of over 700 Russian diplomats from the U.S. and allied countries following Russia's extensive military invasion of Ukraine, the number of Russian intelligence agents posing as 'ordinary citizens' in the West has multiplied.