Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the principal foreign intelligence and counterintelligence agency of the US government, has made a proposition to the Russians who are not happy with Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine.
Making a pitch to potential spies and agents, David Marlowe, the agency's deputy director of operations, told an academic audience that the invasion of Ukraine has been a massive failure for Russian President Vladimir Putin and that Western intelligence services should make the most of it by enlisting agents from among Russians, Wall Street Journal reported.
"We're looking around the world for Russians who are as disgusted with that as we are," Mr Marlowe said. "Because we're open for business."
Noting that the Russian president had the ability to put pressure on Ukraine and NATO, and demonstrate his country's strength, Mr Marlowe said: "He's squandered every single bit of that."
Mr Marlowe was appointed to the position in June 2021 by CIA Director William Burns. He was speaking alongside CIA Deputy Director for Analysis Linda Weissgold at the George Mason University's Hayden Centre, in his first in-person public appearance since taking over as the CIA's espionage chief last year, according to the Journal.
Interestingly, his announcement to recruit military officials, and oligarchs, echoes similar sentiments of previous CIA officers who have said that disaffection with the war in Ukraine has provided them fertile ground for recruitment.
According to a Business Insider report, Mr Marlowe's comments come after a top British intelligence official revealed last week that European countries have expelled over 400 Russian officials suspected of being spies this year.
The news also comes at a time when pro-Moscow forces have abandoned the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson. Meanwhile, at least 200,000 Russians have left the country, abandoning their homes and jobs ever since Vladimir Putin's draft began, New York Post reported.
