Russians appalled by Ukraine war should spy for UK, says MI6 boss Sir Richard Moore
The head of MI6 has urged Russians appalled by the horrors of Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine to switch sides and spy for the UK to help end the bloodshed.
In an extraordinary public recruitment pitch, Sir Richard Moore used a speech to reveal a number of individuals had already taken this step over the past 18 months since Russia launched its invasion.
He also said the Russian president was “under pressure” and had to cut a deal with the boss of the Wagner mercenary company to “save his own skin”.
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The chief of the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), better known as MI6, did not specify who his overtures were aimed at but disaffected Russian intelligence officers, military officials and diplomats would make valuable assets.
“There are many Russians today who are silently appalled by the sight of their armed forces pulverising Ukrainian cities, expelling innocent families from their homes and kidnapping thousands of children,” Sir Richard said.
“They are watching in horror as their soldiers ravage a kindred country. They know in their hearts that Putin‘s case for attacking a fellow Slavic nation is fraudulent.”
Sir Richard Moore
The spymaster, who rarely steps out of the shadows, made his remarks in a speech at the British embassy in the Czech capital, that was streamed live.
He drew on the historic horrors inflicted on his host country in 1968 – when the then Soviet Union violently crushed an uprising known as the Prague Spring.
The brutality prompted Russian officials, disgusted by what was happening, to defect and spy for the UK.
Sir Richard seemed to hope the carnage in Ukraine would stir a new wave of defections.
“As they witness the venality, infighting and callous incompetence of their leaders – the human factor at its worst – many more Russians are wrestling with the same dilemmas and the same tugs of conscience as their predecessors did in 1968,” he said.
“I invite them to do what others have already done this past 18 months and join hands with us.
“Our door is always open. We will handle their offers of help with the discretion and professionalism for which our service is famed.
“Their secrets will always be safe with us and together we will work to bring the bloodshed to an end. My service lives by the principle that our loyalty to our agents is lifelong and our gratitude eternal.”
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‘Revenge strike’ on Odesa and Mykolaiv
He also highlighted a short-lived mutiny in Russia last month by the head of the mercenary group Wagner, saying in a question and answer session after the speech that he thought Yevgeny Prigozhin was still “floating around” and had even been for tea with President Putin.
Sir Richard said the rebellion had exposed weakness and division at the heart of the Kremlin and that Putin had been forced to cut a deal with his former prodigy to “save his own skin”.
Asked by a journalist from the news website Politico, who conducted an interview with Sir Richard after his speech, whether Russia’s president was desperate or mad, the MI6 boss said: “He is clearly under pressure.”
He pointed to how a convoy of Wagner mercenaries were able last month to move towards Moscow in their aborted coup as a sign of a lack of grip on power.
As to whether the Wagner chief was still alive, Sir Richard said: “As far as we can tell, Prigozhin is floating around.
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“He went for tea with Putin to give him advice along with a number of others. Sometimes these things are mysterious even for me.”
He said the best way for the Kremlin to regain stability would be to withdraw its forces from Ukraine.
“No one wants to humiliate Putin – still less humiliate Russia, the great nation that he misrules. But the answer to these conundrums is very clear – to remove troops from Ukraine.”
His speech covered a range of other topics, including the growth of artificial intelligence (AI) and how computers would not replace human spies.
“In fact, the opposite is likely to be true. As AI trawls the ocean of open source, there will be even greater value in landing, with a well-cast fly, the secrets that lie beyond the reach of its nets,” the spy chief said.
The public outing was not all serious.
Sir Richard was asked about a pair of cufflinks he was wearing – Marmite pots, one saying “love” and the other saying “hate”, in a nod to the divisive sandwich filling.
He joked about how he was doing his bit to help sell British produce to the Czechs.
US president-elect Donald Trump has suggested Israel and Hamas could agree a Gaza ceasefire by the end of the week.
Talks between Israeli and Hamas representatives resumed in the Qatari capital Doha yesterday, after US President Joe Biden indicated a deal to stop the fighting was “on the brink” on Monday.
A draft agreement has been sent to both sides. It includes provisions for the release of hostages and a phased Israeli troop withdrawal from Gaza.
Qatar says Israel and Hamas are at their “closest point” yet to a ceasefire deal.
Two Hamas officials said the group has accepted the draft agreement, with Israel still considering the deal.
An Israeli official said a deal is close but “we are not there” yet.
More than 46,500 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since Israel launched its ground offensive in the aftermath of the 7 October attacks, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry.
Read more:
What’s in the proposed deal?
Palestinians inspect the site of an Israeli strike on beachfront cafe in Deir al Balah. Pic: Reuters
Biden hails possibility of agreement
President Biden said it would include a hostage release deal and a “surge” of aid to Palestinians, in his final foreign policy speech as president.
“So many innocent people have been killed, so many communities have been destroyed. Palestinian people deserve peace,” he said.
“The deal would free the hostages, halt the fighting, provide security to Israel, and allow us to significantly surge humanitarian assistance to the Palestinians who suffered terribly in this war that Hamas started.”
Qatari mediators have sent Israel and Hamas a draft proposal for an agreement to halt the fighting.
Analysis:
Deal might be close, but there are many unanswered questions
Pic: Reuters
Trump: ‘We’re very close’
President-elect Donald Trump has also discussed a possible peace deal during a phone interview with the Newsmax channel.
“We’re very close to getting it done and they have to get it done,” he said.
“If they don’t get it done, there’s going to be a lot of trouble out there, a lot of trouble, like they have never seen before.
“And they will get it done. And I understand there’s been a handshake and they’re getting it finished and maybe by the end of the week. But it has to take place, it has to take place.”
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Pic: AP
Israeli official: Former Hamas leader held up deal
Speaking on Tuesday as negotiations resumed in Qatar, an anonymous Israeli official said that an agreement was “close, but we are not there”.
They accused Hamas of previously “dictating, not negotiating” but said this has changed in the last few weeks.
“Yahya Sinwar was the main obstacle for a deal,” they added.
Sinwar, believed to be the mastermind of the 7 October attacks, led Hamas following the assassination of his predecessor but was himself killed in October last year.
Under Sinwar, the Israeli official claimed, Hamas was “not in a rush” to bring a hostage deal but this has changed since his death and since the IDF “started to dismantle the Shia axis”.
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Biden: ‘Never, never, never, ever give up’
Iran ‘weaker than it’s been in decades’
Yesterday, President Biden also hailed Washington’s support for Israel during two Iranian attacks in 2024.
“All told, Iran is weaker than it’s been in decades,” the president said.
Mr Biden claimed America’s adversaries were weaker than when he took office four years ago and that the US was “winning the worldwide competition”.
“Compared to four years ago, America is stronger, our alliances are stronger, our adversaries and competitors are
weaker,” he said.
“We have not gone to war to make these things happen.”
The US president is expected to give a farewell address on Wednesday.
A draft ceasefire deal on the table between Israel and Hamas would see 33 hostages set free and a phased withdrawal of IDF forces from parts of Gaza.
President Joe Biden said an agreement to stop the fighting was “on the brink” and high level negotiations between the two sides resumed in Qatar on Tuesday.
The deal would see a number of things happen in a first stage, with negotiations for the second stage beginning in the third week of the ceasefire.
It would also allow a surge in humanitarian aid into Gaza, which has been devastated by more than a year of war.
Details of what the draft proposal entails have been emerging on Tuesday, reported by Israeli and Palestinian officials.
Relatives and supporters of Israeli hostages hold photos of their loved ones during a protest on 8 January. Pic: AP
Hostages to be returned
In the first stage of the potential ceasefire, 33 hostages would be set free.
These include women (including female soldiers), children, men over the age of 50, wounded and sick.
Israel believes most of these hostages are alive but there has not been any official confirmation from Hamas.
In return for the release of the hostages, Israel would free more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees.
People serving long sentences for deadly attacks would be included in this but Hamas fighters who took part in the 7 October attack would not be released.
An arrangement to prevent Palestinian “terrorists” from going back to the West Bank would be included in the deal, an anonymous Israeli official said.
Read more:
A timeline of events since the 7 October attacks
The hostages who still haven’t returned home
Smoke billows as buildings lie in ruin in Beit Hanoun in Gaza. Pic: Reuters
Phased Israeli withdrawal from Gaza
The agreement also includes a phased withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, with IDF troops remaining in the border perimeter to defend Israeli border towns and villages.
Security arrangements would be implemented at the Philadelphi corridor – a narrow strip of land that runs along the border between Egypt and Gaza – with Israel withdrawing from parts of it after the first few days of the deal.
The Rafah Crossing between Egypt and Gaza would start to work gradually to allow the crossing of people who are sick and other humanitarian cases out of Gaza for treatment.
Unarmed North Gaza residents would be allowed to return to their homes, with a mechanism introduced to ensure no weapons are moved there.
“We will not leave the Gaza Strip until all our hostages are back home,” the Israeli official said.
What will happen to Gaza in the future?
There is less detail about the future of Gaza – from how it will be governed, to any guarantees that this agreement will bring a permanent end to the war.
“The only thing that can answer for now is that we are ready for a ceasefire,” the Israeli official said.
“This is a long ceasefire and the deal that is being discussed right now is for a long one. There is a big price for releasing the hostages and we are ready to pay this price.”
The international community has said Gaza must be run by Palestinians, but there has not been a consensus about how this should be done – and the draft ceasefire agreement does not seem to address this either.
In the past, Israel has said it will not end the war leaving Hamas in power. It also previously rejected the possibility of the Palestinian Authority, which exercises limited governing powers in the West Bank, from taking over the administration of Gaza.
Since the beginning of its military campaign in Gaza, Israel has also said it would retain security control over the territory after the fighting ends.
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