A Belarusian activist warns that Poland is a primary target for Belarusian intelligence, with hundreds of agents and informants operating in Europe.
Scale of Operations
According to Juliana Szemetowiec, a Belarusian activist and representative of the Kiberpartyzany (Cyberpartisans) group, there are likely several hundred active agents in Poland, including officers under cover, illegals, and recruited Belarusians, Ukrainians, and Poles.
Tactics and Goals
Szemetowiec describes the methods used by Belarusian intelligence as diverse, including recruitment through blackmail, compromising materials, or money; use of informants in the diaspora; and technical actions such as surveillance, hacking, and attempted cyberattacks.
The primary goals of these operations are to gather information on the opposition, military aid for Ukraine, and emigrants, with a focus on monitoring the diaspora, discrediting leaders, and spreading disinformation.
Recruitment and Criteria
Szemetowiec explains that Belarusian intelligence services select candidates for cooperation based on three main criteria: access to necessary information, susceptibility to blackmail, and ideological loyalty or a tendency towards pro-Soviet and anti-Western sentiments.
The mechanisms of recruitment are described as predictable but brutal, ranging from blackmail to financial offers, with the goal of manipulating individuals into cooperation.
