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In a new row of Russian hysteria, it appears that a top-secret Russian unit seeks to sow discord throughout Europe. This was reported by the NYT, citing anonymous officials from four Western countries.
The Skripal alleged poisoning, the “destabilization campaign in Moldova,” the alleged poisoning of the arms dealer in Bulgaria (which British media already tied to the Skripal case).
Many thought that these were “isolated cases,” and the only thing they had in common was that they were backed by no evidence at all.
But MSM, backed by the claims of unnamed intelligence officials, has discovered that these all bear the “fingerprints of Russia’s intelligence services on them” and were carried out by the same special Russia unit.
It is allegedly called Unit 29155, and has reportedly operated for more than 10 years, but Western intelligence officials “only now discovered it.”
“Intelligence officials in four Western countries say it is unclear how often the unit is mobilized and warn that it is impossible to know when and where its operatives will strike.”
This adds another layer to the Russian hysteria and fearmongering, now the mythical Unit 29155, possibly named after a submarine or warship project is everywhere, just waiting for their chance to carry out mischievous deeds.
It also presents the clear possibility to blame everything remotely bad that happens on Russia, similarly as to how everything that happens in Africa is blamed on Sergey Prigozhin and the “mythical” Wagner Group.
“I think we had forgotten how organically ruthless the Russians could be,” said Peter Zwack, a retired military intelligence officer and former defense attaché at the United States Embassy in Moscow said. He also said he had no idea such a Unit existed. Well, now he knows.
[Editor comment: There was a state that used terms like ‘organically ruthless’, ‘ethnically ruthless’ etc to justify actions against the Russians – Nazi Germany. We hope Mr Peter Zwack would not repeat some ‘historical mistakes’ of his muse]
The NYT even went a step further and messaged the Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov asking him about the Unit, he referred any questions to the Russian Ministry of Defense.
Unsurprisingly, the Defense Ministry did not even respond to a request for comment, not because it is ridiculous, of course, but because they don’t want to share even the slightest hint of information regarding this “top-secret unit.”
“Hidden behind concrete walls at the headquarters of the 161st Special Purpose Specialist Training Center in eastern Moscow.” It is part of the “Russian military intelligence agency, widely known as the GRU.”
Then the NYT reminds that Special Counsel Robert Mueller indicted many Russian hackers, all of whom are free, and most of the still operate from Moscow, allegedly.
“By contrast, officers from Unit 29155 travel to and from European countries. Some are decorated veterans of Russia’s bloodiest wars, including in Afghanistan, Chechnya and Ukraine. Its operations are so secret, according to assessments by Western intelligence services, that the unit’s existence is most likely unknown even to other G.R.U. operatives.”
It is also possible that the unit’s existence is completely unknown to people who are allegedly part of it. Everything is possible with the “evil Russians.”
“This is a unit of the G.R.U. that has been active over the years across Europe,” said one European security official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe classified intelligence matters. “It’s been a surprise that the Russians, the G.R.U., this unit, have felt free to go ahead and carry out this extreme malign activity in friendly countries. That’s been a shock.”
According to the NYT, the unit’s alleged movements became apparent after the alleged Skripal nerve agent poisoning.
Speaking to reporters in February at the Munich Security Conference, Alex Younger, the chief of MI6, Britain’s foreign intelligence service, spoke out against the growing Russian threat and hinted at coordination.
“You can see there is a concerted program of activity — and, yes, it does often involve the same people,” Younger said, pointing specifically to the Skripal poisoning and the Montenegro coup attempt. He added: “We assess there is a standing threat from the G.R.U. and the other Russian intelligence services and that very little is off limits.”
Despite allegedly being completely unknown and acting in the shadows for over a decade, the unit apparently is also quite sloppy.
The citation underneath also shows how much effort was put into the report by the NYT – in the beginning of the article, a destabilization campaign in Moldova is cited, later on Moldova actually turns into Montenegro.
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“Though an elite force, the unit appears to operate on a shoestring budget. According to Russian records, General Averyanov lives in a run-down Soviet-era building a few blocks from the unit’s headquarters and drives a 1996 VAZ 21053, a rattletrap Russia-made sedan. Operatives often share cheap accommodation to economize while on the road. British investigators say the suspects in the Skripal poisoning stayed in a low-cost hotel in Bow, a downtrodden neighborhood in East London.
But European security officials are also perplexed by the apparent sloppiness in the unit’s operations. Mr. Skripal survived the assassination attempt, as did Mr. Gebrev, the Bulgarian arms dealer. The attempted coup in Montenegro drew an enormous amount of attention, but ultimately failed. A year later, Montenegro joined NATO. It is possible, security officials say, that they have yet to discover other, more successful operations.”
It appears that scriptwriters of the James Bond film series have just found a new place where they can get a useful advice for their future films.
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