France: Police Arrest Suspects for Spying and Promoting Russian Propaganda

Paris police arrested three people suspected of spying for Russia and promoting the Kremlin’s war propaganda, prosecutors said on November 25. The arrests came as part of a probe into a French-Russian association, France24 reported.

Under the guise of humanitarian activities, two leaders of the SOS Donbass association conducted espionage on behalf of Moscow, prosecutors say. Reportedly, Anna Novikova, the association’s founder, was among those arrested by the DGSI (General Directorate for Internal Security) on November 21 as part of an investigation by the Paris prosecutor’s office.

The arrests coincide with heightened fears of Russian interference throughout Europe, as European governments blame the Kremlin’s spy services while Russia’s war in Ukraine has continued for nearly four years.

One of those detained, a 40-year-old Russian man, was seen on video surveillance footage in September putting up pro-Russian posters on the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, the Paris prosecutors’ office said.

The man then reported by telephone to the head of the association, SOS Donbass, who is a 40-year-old woman suspected by French counter-espionage officials of attempting to obtain economic information from French company executives.

The woman, who was born in Russia, had been on the radar of France’s domestic intelligence service, the General Directorate for Internal Security (DGSI), since at least the beginning of the year.

The third person in custody is a 63-year-old man born in the northern Paris suburb of Seine-Saint-Denis. A fourth suspect, 58, was spared pre-trial detention but placed under strict supervision and forced to report to the police station once a week, French media reported.

After the DGSI detected “actions likely to harm the fundamental interests of the nation” relating to her, an investigating magistrate was appointed in March to probe various suspected offenses, including “collusion with a foreign power,” which is punishable by 10 years in jail.

After 96 hours in police custody, they were formally charged with colluding with a foreign power, conducting activities to gather information on the interests of the nation for a foreign power, and conspiracy to commit a crime.

SOS Donbass presents itself as a humanitarian organization offering aid to civilians in the eastern Donbas region of Ukraine, which is partially under Moscow’s control. However, several media outlets and intelligence experts believe that his activities were used by Russian services as part of influence and espionage operations.

This case is part of a broader context of increased surveillance by French intelligence services of pro-Russian networks and civilian structures that could be used as cover for intelligence activities. Investigators are trying to find out how much of the network was used and what information was sent to Russia.

The investigation is ongoing, and the details of the case have not yet been made public, but it illustrates the complexity of hybrid espionage operations in Europe and the heightened vigilance of the French authorities.