Such assumptions were made by the Slovenian authorities, because the flow of Russian “students” in Slovenia coincided with the time when, two years ago, diplomatic workers from Europe began to be expelled en masse due to suspicion of espionage activities.
The Slovenian authorities suspect that the Russians are sending their spies to this country under the guise of “students”, many of whom are actually not students at the age – 40-50 years old. The Wall Street Journal writes about it.
It is reported that the flow of Russian “students” to Slovenia coincides with the period when, two years ago, diplomatic staff began to be expelled en masse from Europe on suspicion of espionage activities. That is why the Slovenian authorities believe that Moscow cannot use former intelligence channels in the EU and are looking for other ways to do it.
In particular, in March 2024, Ljubljana deported at least eight Russian students who were spreading pro-Russian narratives.
According to the publication, at the end of 2022, Slovenian law enforcement officials detained in the capital Artem and Anna Dultsev, officers of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service, who called themselves citizens of Argentina. The defendants were legalized in Slovenia before the full Russian invasion of Ukraine began to investigate this case after February 24, 2022.
In 2022, the couple also began spying on the EU Energy Regulatory Cooperation Agency, which is why they were imprisoned.
Source: korrespondent
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