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| Paper names Colonel Shcherbakov as 'traitor' agent who outed spy ring | ||
| 2010-11-11 | ||
| THE man believed responsible for exposing a Russian spy ring in the US has been named by a newspaper as Colonel Shcherbakov. Kommersant claimed Colonel Shcherbakov, a spy handler with Russia's national intelligence service, provided information to US federal agents in their investigation and arrest of ten deep cover Russian agents in June. The colonel was aided in his "betrayal" by his daughter, who is a long term resident in the US, the report said. It claimed Colonel Shcherbakov fled Russia for the US in June, just days before the undercover agents, including Anna Chapman, were arrested. Colonel Shcherbakov's son was also said to have quit his government post and traveled to the US before the spy ring was exposed, in a dramatic Cold War-style sting operation that dated back several years.
"The fate of such a person is unenviable," a senior Kremlin source told Kommersant. "All his life he will be ... afraid of retaliation." All ten agents arrested in the US were later traded in a spy exchange, which saw Russia send four of its own convicts to the West. But the newspaper said the incident triggered fears in Russia that its entire US espionage operation was at risk, with the government now investigating other past and present employees for potential links to America. "This is a big mix-up that will cost many titles and jobs," one source said.
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| Posted by:tipper |
| #1 "ten deep cover Russian agents" Hmm I remember one who was covered rather lightly |
| Posted by: European Conservative 2010-11-11 20:32 |