WORLD NEWS | Ukraine conflict: FBI plans to recruit Russians for intelligence gathering

washington [US], April 9 (ANI): The FBI has turned to social media to help it ramp up its recruitment and intelligence gathering on Russia, as the war in Ukraine continues to rage with no end in sight. Russian experts have had mixed reviews of the move, according to Fox News.

In a video posted on Facebook and Twitter showing scenes in the U.S. capital and the Russian embassy, ​​a voice speaking in Russian told listeners that if the FBI could provide intelligence to the U.S., they could change their future.

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According to Fox News, the narrator said the FBI was looking for spies, aliens and anyone with anti-Kremlin information.

“Do you want to change your future?” Alan Kohler of the FBI’s counterintelligence division asked in English, directly to the camera.

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“The FBI values ​​you, and the FBI can help you, but only you have the ability to take the first step.”

The FBI appears to have launched its social media program in February in an attempt to encourage Russians to stay away from the Kremlin and President Vladimir Putin’s experience in Ukraine for more than a year, Fox News reported. war and heightened geopolitical tensions with the West followed by acts of aggression.

Former CIA Moscow station chief Dan Hoffman told Fox News that social media’s message was “sharp” and “clever,” adding that it could “help the FBI and the country defeat Russian aggression.”

But Rebekah Koffler, a former Defense Intelligence Agency intelligence officer in charge of Russian doctrine and strategy, told Fox News the video itself was flawed and said the narrator’s comments didn’t always make sense, which she believed “Destroys the credibility of the FBI.”

Koffler also questioned how the FBI would be able to dedicate the resources needed to properly vet all callers it might receive now, according to Fox News.

“There are several reasons why the FBI is implementing this new approach. First, recruiting Russian assets is extremely difficult,” she explained.

According to Fox News, Russia is a super tough environment because its counterintelligence service is one of the most effective and brutal in the world.

“The FBI is responding to the modern age of young people’s constant use of social media. It’s trying to cast a wider net and get a bigger payoff, attracting more potential candidates to spy for the United States,” Kovler continued.

But the former DIA intelligence official has low confidence in the government’s ability to effectively implement such programs.

“I wish them luck, but I have next to zero confidence in the success of this project,” Kovler added.

The FBI’s Washington field office encourages anyone in possession of classified information related to Russian intelligence or defense matters to come forward.

The bureau’s intelligence unit also works to ensure that those who are considering coming forward are not only heard but also assisted to keep them safe and confidential. (Arnie)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from a Syndicated News feed, the content body may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)