After French intelligence agencies discovered a covert operation on its territory, France is expelling six Russians accused of working as spies under diplomatic cover, the foreign ministry announced on Monday.
It claimed that the DGSI domestic intelligence service had identified "a covert operation carried out by Russian intelligence agencies on our territory" on April 10 following a lengthy investigation.
France Expels 6 Russian Spies Over Diplomatic Cover
The nature of the procedure was not specified in the announcement. The DGSI "had stopped a network of Russian clandestine operatives who worked against our interests," stated Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin in a tweet.
He thanked the DGSI for protecting France's basic interests while operating in the shadows, saying it had carried out a spectacular counter-espionage operation, according to NDTV.
Several European nations have dismissed Russian diplomats, particularly in the aftermath of the indignation in Europe over the massacres in Bucha, Ukraine's capital Kyiv, where dozens of dead were discovered in mass graves or littering the streets.
Following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, France announced on April 4 that it was expelling 35 Russian diplomats as part of a coordinated European operation. It had identified those diplomats at the time as Russian diplomats stationed in France whose activities were incompatible with our security objectives. According to the French foreign ministry, the six new Russians expelled are in addition to the 35 already reported, as per Yahoo News.
Russian Spy Close to Putin Convicted in US
While Vladimir Putin's conflict in Ukraine continues, individuals in his closest circle have been believed to be turning against him and his "toxic" conduct. Western sanctions have put pressure on Russian enterprises and isolated Russia on the international scene, forcing Putin to do everything to keep his important allies on board.
While many in his inner circle are dubious, one Russian MP, who is known for her steadfast loyalty to the President, has not wavered in her support. Maria Butina, 33, was elected to the Russian Parliament in 2019 after being freed from a US prison after being convicted of "spying" - a charge the Kremlin has long rejected.
Butina claims to be a "peacemaker" who wants to keep Russia and the rest of the world speaking, but her colorful history casts doubt on that assertion. Butina, who was born in the Siberian city of Barnaul in 1988, is said to have been fascinated with weapons since she was a child, picking up her first gun at the age of ten, according to the BBC.
She started actively in politics at an early age and was a member of Vladimir Putin's United Russia party's youth wing. She created an organization called the Right to Bear Arms and worked to make it lawful for Russian residents to own single-barrelled guns while she was a young woman in politics. The gun-toting activist was eventually charged with attempting to "create unauthorized lines of communication" with Republican Party conservatives, Mirror reported.
