Military personnel wearing protective suits remove a police car and other vehicles from a public car park as they continue investigations into the poisoning of Sergei Skripal in Salisbury, England, on March 11, 2018. Chris J Ratcliffe/Getty Images.
Moscow’s regular spies have been expelled. Their kill squads are still active.
Natalia Arno, president of the Free Russia Foundation, experienced a harrowing suspected poisoning in May 2023 while staying in a Prague hotel. Upon returning to her room, she noticed the door ajar and a sweet smell lingering in the air. Shortly after, a severe pain began to spread throughout her body. Arno, who was forced into exile from Russia in 2012, is well aware of the constant threat of surveillance. Despite her quick departure back to the U.S., her symptoms worsened during the flight. The FBI is currently investigating the incident, though no conclusions have been drawn yet. Arno's case is not isolated—Russian journalist Elena Kostyuchenko similarly suffered a suspected poisoning last year, leading to investigations in Berlin.
While European intelligence agencies expelled over 400 Russian intelligence agents following the invasion of Ukraine, suspected Russian kill teams are still operational, targeting perceived state enemies like Arno and Kostyuchenko. Russia's GRU military intelligence unit, infamous for its role in the **Novichok poisoning** of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal, continues to deploy covert operatives across Europe, often relying on sleeper agents and organized crime networks to carry out surveillance and attacks.
The expulsion of Russian spies from Europe has forced the Kremlin to adapt its tactics, relying more on non-traditional methods such as cyber operations and organized crime. European intelligence agencies have ramped up efforts to uncover sleeper agents, exposing operations across the U.K., Germany, and other countries. Despite these efforts, Russian intelligence remains a persistent threat, as evidenced by the recent poisoning attempts.
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