Russia is probably recruiting former fighters of the Islamic State (IS). One of them tells about it.
Munich - Yesterday with the Islamic State (IS), today in action for Russia - this career path has probably already been taken by some fighters, according to the latest reports. As the independent news site Meduza reported on Tuesday (16 May), citing four such people, the Russian secret service FSB wants to recruit IS fighters to infiltrate other countries. Specifically, the United States of America, Ukraine, where the Russian war of aggression against Kyiv is currently raging, and Turkey are mentioned as targets.
Ex-IS fighter becomes Russian agent
According to the report, a source close to the FSB spoke of regular, but largely unsuccessful attempts to penetrate Ukraine's military circles. As an example, the medium reports on a former Russian IS fighter named Baurshan Kultanov, who, after four years behind bars, accepted the offer to exchange his next 16 years in prison for work for the FSB in Ukraine.
The archive image from 2019 shows IS fighters in Syria with a flag of the self-proclaimed "Islamic State". © Amaq News Agency/AP/dpa
The Kremlin's intelligence service sent him to Turkey in the spring of 2022, where he was instructed to gather information about underground efforts to send fighters to Ukraine. According to reports, the FSB in Ukraine has targeted the head of a volunteer battalion that has been fighting on the side of Ukraine since 2014, in the ranks of which there are Crimean Tatars and Chechens.
FSB wants to turn ex-IS fighters into double or triple agents
Kultanov, who is currently detained in Turkey for immigration violations, recalled the words of the FSB recruiters. "You are our eyes and ears, but you are not the only one. It would be nice to make you a double or even triple agent so that other special services would want to recruit you." He said he "didn't have to invent anything" because he was "really a terrorist and a Muslim." "Just tell them that you don't like Russia and the FSB. They will welcome you with open arms," it continued.
According to Ukraine's January 2023 data, Kyiv has unmasked more than 600 Russian agents. In Turkey, Kultanov has asked for political asylum - in the event of deportation to Russia, he could face death.
Russia's recruitment efforts in Ukraine an "open secret"
Another former IS fighter named Karim told Meduza that Russia's recruitment efforts in Ukraine were an "open secret." U.S. authorities have detained around 2022 Russians suspected of being FSB agents at the U.S.-Mexico border since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 50, according to terrorism researcher Vera Mironova.
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