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New Latin America: how Russia is cloning Abwehr schemes in Sweden

In March 2025, the Swedish Security Service (Säro) made an alarming announcement: Russia has begun recruiting people with drug addictions for sabotage activities within Sweden. According to TV4 Nyheterna's sources, this is a new tactic - recruiting those least suspected of being spies. From Moscow's point of view, the ideal perpetrator is a socially invisible person, a drug addict, a homeless person or a petty criminal element - all of whom do not raise suspicion but can silently undermine critical infrastructure.

According to Säpo, these "expendable agents" receive instructions via social media, get paid and disappear. The Kremlin does not care about their fate, as the mission is complete - the agent is written off.

Sweden is a new NATO member. The country's accession to the Alliance in March 2024 effectively eliminated the "neutral zone" in the Baltic States. Now the Baltic Sea is, in fact, NATO's inland lake, which cannot but worry Moscow because of the problems with Kaliningrad

In addition, Sweden is actively supporting Ukraine, transferring weapons, modernising its defence industry and participating in air patrols over the Baltic. This, in turn, cannot be good for the Russians. The outright increase in Russian espionage activity in Sweden is a response to the declining effectiveness of classical intelligence methods. Säpo has been actively exposing Russian diplomats and spies, which means that Russia's game needs new players. That is why a new tactic has been chosen

Recruitment takes place via Telegram, Discord, and closed social media groups. Russians don't recruit for the sake of an idea - they recruit for a dose or easy money. A small service (take a picture of an object, move a package, leave a bag) = quick money for the performer and a full-fledged spy operation for the Russians, without any evidence of involvement

Russian spies pay the most attention to the critical infrastructure of Sweden (power substations, telecom masts, transport hubs, water supply facilities, etc.) Local police have already been instructed to look for anything unusual in these areas.

Säpo estimates that up to 30% of the Russian embassy staff in Sweden are intelligence officers. The Russian Orthodox "church" is also used as a legitimate cover for intelligence activities.

Similar cases to Sweden have been reported in Poland, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, as all these countries are on the frontline of the hybrid war. In 2021, two spy brothers of Iranian origin were exposed, one of whom worked for SÄPO and military intelligence, which means that the Russian network was deep and long-standing.

Säpo calls on the police to pay attention to petty criminals near important facilities, analyse the behaviour of drug addicts (especially in technical or isolated areas), and coordinate surveillance with cyber intelligence: most "contracts" with Russian taskmasters are made online.

By the way, the Russians have not actually invented anything new. They have ripped off the idea again - this time from the Germans

After the First World War, the Treaty of Versailles effectively blocked Germany's ability to have a full-fledged army, navy and intelligence. Therefore, as early as the 1920s, the German General Staff began to build global informal networks of influence, especially in Latin America. And in the 1930s, German intelligence in Latin America recruited not politicians, but ordinary, poor outsiders. The Germans' logic was simple: a person who doesn't care is the best agent. It's easy with this person, no one is interested in them, but they are grateful that someone has finally seen them.

In the interwar period, Germany (especially after the Nazis came to power in 1933) was looking for new ways to influence the world, despite the prohibitions of the Treaty of Versailles.
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