EU country reveals how to spot ‘Russian spies’
One of Latvia’s intelligence agencies has published an instruction manual on how to spot potential Russian spies and saboteurs.
The Latvian Defense Intelligence and Security Service (MIDD) released the instructions to the general public on Wednesday.
“A sloppy, unkempt appearance and insufficient hygiene,” could be a visual clue that someone is a Russian reconnaissance-sabotage group member, according to the release. Other potential cues are tourist, paramilitary, or sports clothing, an athletic physique or a short haircut, it added. No one factor is a surefire sign of a spy, MIDD stressed, warning Latvians against attempting to take matters into their own hands or confronting anyone they may suspect.
Maps, radios, navigation equipment, weapons, and survival foods could also be a red flag, the agency wrote. Infiltrator groups may choose remote places to live, such as in forests, near bodies of water, or in abandoned buildings, it said.
In addition, Latvians should watch out for people unfamiliar with their surroundings, who appear to be observing the area or questioning locals about their political beliefs, MIDD wrote.
Potential Russian spies could claim they are in the country on tourist or business trips, or for visiting friends or relatives, the agency wrote.
MIDD warned that potential saboteurs could operate in groups of three to four and move “military style.” One of the group members could be familiar with the local language, it added. They could also be carrying a Russian passport and rubles, the agency said.
Latvia has shown particular hostility to its significant Russian minority, especially since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022.
Around a quarter of the Baltic state’s roughly 1.8 million people are ethnic Russians, according to official Latvian statistics.
In May, Latvian Interior Minister Rihards Kozlovskis urged the EU to halt issuing Schengen tourist visas to Russian citizens, accusing them of posing a threat to the bloc’s security. It is the EU’s “moral duty” to impose an outright visa ban on Russian tourists, the minister argued.
During last week’s Victory Day commemorations in Latvia, local police detained eight people and opened 67 administrative cases related to the events. The authorities charged people with singing Russian wartime songs, displaying banned Soviet symbols and making flower offerings in the colors of the flag of the Russian Federation.
