Coup, Novičiok and explosions: GRU launches operations in Europe with Maidan

In March 2012, the then Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdiukov signed a decree on benefits for “extraordinary achievements in service” of military units No. 99450, 74455 and 29155 agents, write “Radio Free Europe”.

At that time, no one paid attention to the decree and the units belonging to the Russian Military Intelligence Service (GRU).

After a few years, part no. 29155 received special attention from the world: its agents were accused of attempting to carry out a coup in Montenegro, of poisoning former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and a Bulgarian arms dealer.

In April, the Czech Republic accused the unit of two life-threatening explosions at a munitions depot in 2014. Prague ordered 18 Russian diplomats to leave the country, Moscow sent 20 Czechs.

SEE ALSO: Czechs Affected by Russian Espionage Operations, Moscow Hurts for Energy

It also worked during the Soviet era.

The GRU has been operating for several decades, having previously worked in parallel with the KGB. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the service cooperated with the KGB’s successors: the Federal Security Service and the Foreign Intelligence Service.

In addition to gathering traditional intelligence on the battlefield, the GRU also controls various Special Forces units, known as specnaz. Some of them are accused of sabotage-type operations. These units are also involved in electronic surveillance, recruitment of foreign spies, cyber espionage, and cyber operations such as hacking into enemy computers.

TOWER CRANE specnaz The units played an important role in preparing for the Soviet invasions of Hungary in 1956 and Czechoslovakia in 1968. The unit was also instrumental in the 1979 coup in Afghanistan, after which Soviet forces invaded the country.

The 2008 war with Sakartwell, in which the GRU also played an important role, is seen as a victory for the Kremlin, but has exposed the great problems of the Russian forces. The Kremlin has undertaken fundamental reforms, including the associated GRU.

At that time, the unit failed. 29155 and others, Mark Galeotti, an expert at the Center for Slavic and Eastern European Studies at University College London, told Radio Free Europe.

Since 2018, the GRU has been headed by Navy Admiral Igor Kostiukov, subordinate to the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov and Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu.

Photo by Scanpix / ITAR-TASS / Sergei Shuigu

View old incidents

In 2018, Sergei Skripalis, a former Russian spy in Salisbury, England, and his daughter Julia were poisoned with the nerve paralyzing substance Novičiok. Investigators found that GRU agents Anatolijus Čepiga and Aleksandras Miškinas, who arrived in the United Kingdom (UK) under false identities, were responsible for the poisoning.

Western countries have sent dozens of Russian diplomats to show solidarity with London, and European intelligence services have resorted to old incidents.

AFP / “Scanpix” nuotr./Emilianas Gebrevas

In the spring of 2015, Emilian Gebrev, a Bulgarian arms dealer, was poisoned. Prosecutors, who initially released almost no information, reported that they resumed the investigation four years later – in part due to information provided by British officials.

In December 2019, Bulgarian investigators announced that five suspected GRU agents, including a high-ranking official who led a team that had poisoned Skripalis, had fallen into their sight. The following month, three Russians were charged.

Bellingcat investigators reported that suspected GRU agents arrived and left at similar times in 2014-2015, when Bulgaria was rocked by a series of mysterious explosions at weapons factories.

According to M. Galeotti, in 2014 GRU, especially the partial no. 29155, operations became more aggressive. At the time, the Maidan protests had been going on in Ukraine for several months, during which time officials erupted at protesters and eventually Russia’s friendly President Viktor Yanukovych fled the country.

Russia responded by occupying the Crimean peninsula and launching a war that has continued in eastern Ukraine.

“The case of the Czech Republic is very interesting because 2014 marks the beginning of the process, the reaction to what was seen as a continuation of Maidan and Moscow’s belief that the West is trying to rob them of Ukraine,” Galeotti said.

“Russia considered itself at war with the West, at that time it was determined to start a war in the West. <...> They were determined to do some pretty dangerous operations in 2014, “he added.

He also targeted Montenegro

Part no. 29155 is not known for its cyber attacks and hacking; other GRU units do. However, Danish officials say that GRU agents may have broken into the headquarters of the Chemical Weapons Insurance Organization in The Hague in October 2018. The organization investigated the material used in the poisoning of the Scripes.

In October 2016, Montenegrin officials said they had blocked an attempt to occupy the country’s parliament building and assassinate the prime minister. The goal was to prevent Montenegro from joining NATO.

14 people were charged, including Serbian and Russian citizens. Prosecutors also charged two Russian military intelligence agents, Eduard Shishmakov and Vladimir Popov.

Popov is a pseudonym for the person identified by Vladimir Moiseyev. He traveled to and from Bulgaria at least four times in 2014 – around the same time as the explosions at Bulgarian arms factories.

In October 2014, an ammunition depot exploded in the Czech Republic under mysterious circumstances. On April 17, the country’s Prime Minister Andrejus Babišas announced that Czech intelligence had found GRU unit no. 29155. The Czech Republic says it is looking for people who are also responsible for the poisoning of the Scripes.

„Scanpix“ / AP nuotr./Andrejus Babišas

At the same time, Bellingcat announced that in October 2014, just before the explosion in the Czech Republic, General Andrei Averijanov visited Vienna. It is believed to be with a partial no. 29155 Commander of the corresponding Special Forces Command.

The media reports that the ammunition stored in the warehouse belonged to the Bulgarian merchant E. Gebrev. The weapons are said to have been destined for Ukraine, which was already at war in Donbass with separatists at the time. E. Gebrev denies it.

Tor Bukkvoll, an expert at the Research Institute of the Norwegian Defense Ministry, says that the information about the activities of the agents in the Czech Republic does not change the situation drastically, but suggests how early and aggressively this unit of the GRU acted.

“Such a demonstration, which shows that (Russia) is ready to carry out such missions, travel to other countries and carry out such operations, is very terrible,” Bukkvoll told Radio Free Europe.