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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Shaun Walker Central and eastern Europe correspondent

Trump’s return raises questions over future of CIA’s Russian recruitment drive

CIA Donald Trump Russia United States Calder Walton Vladimir Putin Ukraine Richard Moore Tulsi Gabbard FBI
Donald Trump shaking the hand of Vladimir Putin
Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin at a meeting in Helsinki, Finland in 2018. Photograph: Pablo Martínez Monsiváis/AP

For the past three years, the CIA has run an unusually bold outreach programme. It targeted Russians within the country’s government and security services, attempting to turn them into double agents.

Slickly produced recruitment videos portrayed cooperation with the US secret agency as the patriotic choice for officials disaffected with Vladimir Putin’s regime and the war in Ukraine. The videos ended with instructions on how to contact the CIA in a secure manner.

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