By Dan De Luce and Yuliya Talmazan - NBC News
The Central Intelligence Agency has posted a video on social media saying it offers Russian citizens a secure way to contact them to share with U.S. spies secret about the war in Ukraine and other information in exchange for protection.
"We want to reach out to those brave Russians who are motivated to contact the CIA because of the Russian government's unjust war and make sure they do so as safely as possible," an agency official said.
The Russian-language video was first posted on instant messaging app Telegram and also appeared on YouTube, Twitter and Facebook.
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"The people around you may not want to hear the truth," the narrator says, "but we do. You are not powerless. Contact us in a safe way."
Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for Russian leader Vladimir Putin, responded: "I am convinced that our special services are properly monitoring this space." A spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry called it "a very convenient resource for tracking those who use it."
The two-minute video, with dramatic music, shows Russians looking out the window or from a bench in the park, apparently weighing a momentous decision. A man carrying a briefcase enters an official building and shows his ID card. The fictional characters contemplate the family portraits, as if contemplating the future of their children. At the end of the video, the Russians contact the CIA on their phones.
The video shows "fictitious Russian officials making the difficult but important decision to secretly contact the CIA using our dark web portal," the intelligence official explained.
"In today's Russia it is still very difficult to speak, and telling the truth often has serious consequences. The CIA wants to know the truth about Russia and is looking for reliable people who can tell us and with whom we can communicate safely," he said.
The video, titled Why I Contacted the CIA: My Decision, tells the story of an apparent bureaucrat and his family, as he contemplates his life and the path his country is following. The man wonders, "Is he the kind of life I dreamed of?" The video appeals to Russian national identity, to the desire for a better future: "Being a hero means persevering, but persevering does not mean enduring in vain."
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The video gives an account of the latest U.S. attempt to recruit Russian citizens unhappy with their government over the war against Ukraine. More than a year ago, the CIA posted online instructions in Russian on how to contact her safely.
"I think it's safe to say that we wouldn't be following up and continuing this effort if it hadn't yielded results," the officer said, without elaborating.
Current and former intelligence officials say Russia's troubled war effort has provided a crucial opportunity for Western intelligence agencies to recruit those disenchanted with the invasion and the country's status under Putin.
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CIA Chief Operating Officer David Marlowe told a lecture at George Mason University in November that Putin had squandered his country's power and influence by sending his forces into Ukraine, and that the spy agency was ready to work with Russians angry at the regime.
"We're looking around the world for Russians who are as disgusted with it as we are," he said, "we're open for business."
CIA Director William Burns said in April at Rice University that "discontent with the war will continue to eat away at Russian leaders."
Despite the disagreements with Putin, "America and the Russian people are not enemies. We admire the courage and determination of so many Russians determined to uphold Russia's values and ideals," the CIA official told NBC News.
The agency was interested in varied information about Russia and not simply intelligence or counterintelligence reports, the official said. "We are interested in advanced science, military and cyber technology, financial information, valuable data sources and foreign policy secrets," he concluded.