Dead Drop April 15

PROMOTION POTENTIAL IN PUTIN’S FSB?  According to the (not-always-reliable) U.K. Daily Mail, 150 security officials were purged from Russia’s FSB this week – some of whom were also arrested. The Mail story delivers this nugget: Putin is reportedly “hunting for traitors after Western intelligence agents obtained his country’s battle plans before the invasion.” Among those said to be on Vlad’s bad list is Colonel General Sergei Beseda, who was head of the FSB’s foreign intelligence unit but now reportedly resides in the Lefortovo prison. Officially, he is accused of embezzlement, but Beseda is really being blamed for leaks, according to the Daily Mail.

HOW ABOUT SHARING SOME OF THOSE LEAKS?  Not with us – but the Ukrainians.  Senator Marco Rubio, Vice Chair of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and seven other Republican members sent a letter to DNI Avril Haines this week saying they, “remain deeply concerned that not enough is being done to share critical intelligence that would assist the Ukrainians as Russian forces move to secure territory in the southern and eastern parts of the country. Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday that the administration made a decision “last week” to “help Ukrainian forces better identify how the Russian military plans to attack, and to enable the Ukrainians to respond with their artillery, drone attacks and other fire.”

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