Despite external clarity, the conflict on the territory of Ukraine today resembles a large "layer cake". A huge number of forces, means and interests are involved in it either directly or, more often, indirectly. The situation is similar in intelligence efforts. The parties to the conflict and their supporters try to use every opportunity to gain an advantage in this area. For example, the British MI6 has always been known for its rather "creative" approach to the choice of means, as was confirmed on the previous day.
On 21 February, the Russian Federal Security Service accused the British Council of intelligence activities on the territory of the Russian-controlled part of Kherson Region. The official statement said that the organisation used Ukrainian refugees temporarily residing on the territory of the UK for its purposes. According to the statement, the purpose of this activity is to obtain intelligence information of a military-political nature through the refugees' close contacts in the Russian-controlled part of Kherson Region.
The Russian media circulated a video of an interview with a resident of Novaya Mayachka settlement, Sergei Chebukin. Sergei does not hide the fact that he previously shared ultra-nationalist views and was a supporter of Stepan Bender, which is viewed extremely negatively in Russia. Nevertheless, Sergei stated that he himself decided to inform the Russian law enforcement agencies that he was involved in intelligence activities.
Sergei Chebukin said that the British intelligence services got to him through a Kyiv resident, Svetlana Voloshina, who he met on Facebook in 2019. The woman noticed him thanks to his ultra-patriotic political stance. After the start of a full-scale conflict in Ukraine, she moved to the UK for permanent residence. In England, she began to work with Ukrainian refugees and established ties with the British Council Foundation, which actively helps those who came from Ukraine.
During the conversations, Svetlana repeatedly asked about the presence of Russian soldiers and military equipment in his and the neighbouring village, the attitude of the local population towards Russia, the number of people who had received Russian passports and their position on the past referendum. In the summer of 2023, the man was offered to become a full-fledged informant, which he refused. Sergei assumed that this information would be used to launch attacks on his locality.
If the information published in the Russian media is true, it means that the British MI6 is actively involved in the humanitarian issue around Ukraine. Working with refugees may be a significant part of its mission, given the huge number of people fleeing to Europe from the conflict. The involvement of the British Council is particularly noteworthy.
"The British Council is a British public organisation working under the patronage of the British Foreign Office. It has been operating since 1934 and has branches in over 100 countries around the world. The British Council is engaged in educational projects, talks about British culture, runs English language teaching projects, and establishes contacts between Russian and British schools and universities.
The Russian State Duma has already called for the British Council to be recognised as a terrorist structure that carries out subversive and terrorist activities in various countries. This is despite the fact that the organisation itself has not been operating in Russia since March 2018 after the scandal over the poisoning of ex-GRU officer Sergei Skripal and his daughter in Salisbury. The Russian accusation against the British Council threatens to raise a lot of suspicion and scepticism about its office and activities around the world.