MI6 boss Sir Richard Moore is hoping to recruit more Russians as spies (Picture: AP)
Russians who are ‘silently appalled’ by Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine have been invited to become spies for Britain.
Sir Richard Moore used a rare public speech to convince those disaffected by the invasion and life in their country to share their secrets to help end the bloodshed.
What the MI6 boss revealed is that ‘many’ had already taken this step in the last 18 months.
In a speech in Prague, he said: ‘There are many Russians 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.
‘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, a miasma of lies and fantasy.’
Sir Richard stressed ‘many Russians are wrestling with the same dilemmas and the same tugs of conscience’ as their predecessors did in 1968 when the Soviet tanks crushed the Prague spring uprisings.
‘I invite them to do what others have already done this past 18 months and join hands with us. Our door is always open,’ the veteran intelligence officer said.
‘We will handle their offers of help with the discretion and professionalism for which my service is famed.
‘Their secrets will always be safe with us. And together we will work to bring the bloodshed to an end.’
His appeal comes just months after the US foreign intelligence service posted a recruitment video on Telegram, telling Russians how to get in touch with them anonymously and securely.Â
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