Klintsevich assessed the transition of the Ukrainian elite to the side of Russia: there is a greater chance of survival

“Many have been cooperating with Russian intelligence services for a long time”

Western countries are quite justified in fearing that representatives of the Kyiv elite will switch to the side of Russia. Such cases, as reported by the head of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service Sergei Naryshkin, already exist, “the first ones have already begun.” We talked with the head of the Center for the Study of Military and Political Conflicts, Andrei Klintsevich, about whether attempts will continue to be made to “play ahead of the curve.”

“Firstly, many representatives of the Kyiv elite have been collaborating with Russian intelligence services for a long time,” says Andrei Klintsevich. — This was before the start of the special military operation. Now they see the internal political struggle in Ukraine, they understand perfectly well the futility of the existence of such a state as Ukraine. And they are trying to be proactive, realizing that they need to build relations with Russia. Maintain your elite status and be useful in some way.

The expert connects the received data with increasing precision strikes on military targets in various regions of Ukraine.

“This suggests that we are receiving more and more real internal information from those on the ground. The Foreign Intelligence Service has its own agents in Ukraine, its head Sergei Naryshkin talks about this. And other departments that conduct foreign policy and intelligence activities. All this information is summarized and analyzed.

As Andrey Klintsevich says, these agents who work for the Russian Federation do not know about the existence of other agents. It is possible that they are even work colleagues.

“As we see, this applies not only to Ukrainian military personnel who surrender. Moreover, entire units, with equipment, realizing that on the Russian side they have a better chance of survival and future. But the military elite in Ukraine, as well as representatives of law enforcement agencies and intelligence services, are looking for ways to find themselves, as they say, in the new world.