The Belarusian KGB plays a significant role in Moscow’s hybrid operations targeting Ukraine and European Union countries. Minsk has effectively become a contractor for the FSB in recruiting Ukrainian citizens for sabotage activities. Intelligence Online reports.
Western and Ukrainian intelligence services are closely monitoring the agency led by Ivan Tertel amid a sharp increase in secret operations and acts of sabotage carried out by Russian services on European territory. According to sources from multiple intelligence agencies, Moscow is increasingly using the Belarusian structure to work with young Ukrainians.
This category of citizens is considered a convenient target for recruitment for sabotage both within Ukraine and in EU countries. The main reason is that such individuals can move relatively freely across Europe. In the event of their failure or detention, the Russian side can exploit the incidents for propaganda purposes, including undermining Western support for Ukraine. Ukrainian intelligence has already recorded cases of Ukrainian citizens meeting their handlers at specific points on the Belarusian border. Surveillance of these locations has already led to several arrests of young people suspected of links with the KGB.
Crossing the border in person, however, is not the only or primary recruitment method. Initial contact is most often established remotely via the internet and messaging apps, primarily Telegram. Western intelligence agencies now view Belarus as a transit territory for operatives arriving from Russia and heading further into EU countries. An example is the case of Ukrainian citizen Maksym Dvirnyk, arrested in France in June 2024. He entered Europe through Belarus and Poland and was detained after a homemade bomb accidentally detonated in his hotel room.
Direct involvement of the Belarusian KGB in sabotage operations remains an extremely sensitive issue for Western intelligence. Particular attention is focused on Ivan Tertel, who is considered one of the key contacts in the context of Russia’s war against Ukraine. Notably, the KGB head has also taken on an important role in foreign policy: he regularly participates in negotiations with U.S. representatives concerning the release of political prisoners and the lifting of sanctions. Tertel is currently regarded as the second most influential spokesperson on foreign policy in Belarus after Alexander Lukashenko.
