Russian intelligence wanted to control these Ukrainian nuclear power plants and use them as collateral against the Ukrainian government.
Long before February 24, 2022, when Russian troops crossed into Ukraine, Russian spies began recruiting agents in Ukraine as part of a broader effort to destabilize Ukrainian institutions.
Russia’s Unconventional Operations in Ukraine
Andriy Derkach, a former lawmaker from Ukraine and the head of Energoatom, the nation’s state nuclear company, allegedly worked with the Russian intelligence services for at least six years prior to the invasion.
The Ukrainian intelligence services believe that the main direction of Derkach’s pro-Russian activities in the years leading up to 2022 was to influence Ukraine’s nuclear energy industry in Russia’s interests.
Russia’s unconventional operations in Ukraine before and during the war were detailed in a recent report by the British think tank Royal United Services Institute.
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Derkach’s Alleged Role in Aiding the Overthrow of Ukraine
Derkach was allegedly being run by the GRU, the military intelligence service of Russia, and was receiving millions of dollars each month to aid in the overthrow of Ukraine, as stated by the State Security Service of Ukraine.
The RUSI report claims that Derkach was tasked with creating a security firm network to help the Russian military establish and maintain its foothold in a number of cities.
According to the RUSI report, the nuclear energy infrastructure of Ukraine “played a significant role” in Russia’s invasion plan and Kremlin’s public narratives about the conflict.
Moscow alleged that Ukraine intended to use the facilities to develop nuclear weapons, and Kremlin leaders planned to seize the facilities as part of their invasion.
Russia’s primary successor agency to the Soviet-era KGB, the FSB, was deeply involved in the planning and execution of the invasion, the report claims.
FSB operatives may or may not have directly recruited spies in Ukraine, but they or their agents in Ukraine likely attempted to bribe, blackmail, or flatter personnel at the plants, as these are the most common methods for recruiting spies.
Complicating matters further, it’s likely that the Kremlin either ignored or distorted reports about the destabilization effort’s limited success.
As a result, Russian leaders had a limited comprehension of the situation on the ground prior to the invasion.
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