Top Czech spy warns of surrender to Russia

Czech intelligence chief Michal Koudelka has spent decades uncovering Russian spy networks, sabotage attempts and disinformation campaigns against Europe.

Speaking in an interview from a high-security compound on the outskirts of Prague, he now warns his allies that pushing kyiv to accept significant concessions to end the war in Ukraine would only embolden the Kremlin.

“Russia will spend perhaps the next 10 to 15 years recovering from its enormous human and economic losses and preparing for the next target, namely Central and Eastern Europe,” said Koudelka, a major general who heads the country’s security information service.

Photo: AP

“If Ukraine loses, or is forced to accept a bad peace deal, then Russia will perceive that as a victory,” he added.

His assessment is supported by other European intelligence services. Germany’s top spy, Bruno Kahl, warned last month that Russian President Vladimir Putin would be ready for military engagement with NATO by the end of the decade.

Koudelka said international law requires Russia to withdraw all its troops, return occupied or annexed territories and pay reparations. kyiv has recently come under pressure to consider new ways to lure Putin to the negotiating table after 1,000 days of resisting the invasion.

A former Soviet satellite, the Czech Republic is a staunch supporter of Ukraine, hosting hundreds of thousands of war refugees and organizing munitions shipments.

Alongside Poland, as well as the Baltic and Scandinavian countries, it is trying to persuade other allies to continue arming the war-torn country, despite declining public support and battlefield setbacks.

The full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 should remind Western countries that Russia is “an imperial superpower with imperial desires” and has “absolute disregard” for its military losses and civilian deaths, a declared Koudelka.

Since he became intelligence chief eight years ago, the Czech Republic has taken drastic steps to reduce Russian intelligence capabilities and its influence over local politics and affairs. He barred Russian suppliers from a nuclear power project, reduced its reliance on its natural gas and expelled a vast majority of the Kremlin’s spies under diplomatic cover.

Unlike other European countries, the Prague government has taken steps to make it more difficult for Russians to travel to the country, own businesses or properties there and obtain Czech citizenship. He is now trying to persuade the EU to ban Russian diplomats from visa-free travel between member states, to further curb intelligence activities.

Koudelka nevertheless said his country remained a target of Russian hybrid warfare, including traditional espionage, cyberattacks, disinformation campaigns and subversion. The intelligence community across Europe is also preparing for likely threats after the war ends, such as the influx of Ukrainian veterans and weapons smuggling that could end up in the wrong hands.

The 59-year-old counterterrorism and counterintelligence officer dismissed concerns in Europe that the new administration of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump could weaken U.S.-U.S. security and intelligence cooperation. Europe.

“I’ve worked with our American partners before under President Trump and it was really great,” Koudelka said, noting his experience with intelligence sharing under the previous administration. “The same is true today under President (Joe} Biden. And I’m 100 percent convinced it will be just as great during Trump’s second term.”

Koudelka called on Western countries to avoid exposing themselves to new security threats and economic dependencies when they resume trade and diplomatic relations with Russia in the future.

He added that Russia was an “aggressor who only understands force” and that the outcome of the war would determine the likelihood of a future global conflict directly involving NATO.

“Faced with a strong country or a strong alliance, Russia will make the calculation that it is not worth meddling,” he said. “If, on the other hand, Russia concludes that the war in Ukraine was successful, that European countries are weak and that NATO lacks unity, then it might try something new. »