PAYBACKS ARE HELL: Much has been made about Russian President Vladimir Putin’s penchant for making individuals who have defected from Russia or otherwise offended his regime, to pay a price. The 2018 attack on Sergei Skripal is just one example. But apparently, the Kremlin is not the only outfit that goes after citizens who have opted to change sides. Recently, we’ve been reading stories about Vasily Prozorov, a former Ukrainian intelligence officer, who defected to Russia back in 2018. Video emerged of Prozorov starting his Toyota Land Cruiser in a Moscow parking lot and the vehicle exploding. Prozorov, 48, was a lieutenant colonel in Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) before changing teams for what he described as “ideological reasons.” A story in the Kyiv Post shows the dramatic explosion which the defector somehow survived with only minor injuries. Prozorov seems pretty lucky. On Tuesday, Moscow officials announced that they arrested a Russian man for allegedly orchestrating the attack. The Russian Foreign Security Service (FSB) said the man was working on behalf of Ukraine’s SBU. "He arrived in Russia in March this year…. received parts for a radio-controlled explosive device, assembled the explosive device and after carrying out reconnaissance in the area of the address of the ex-SBU employee, carried out the car bombing," it said in a statement. The bombing seemed to send a strong signal to both sides (and may make a good commercial for Toyota Land Cruisers). Then on Tuesday, The Moscow Times reported that Anton Yakimenko, a Russian-installed official in the occupied Zaporizhzhia region of Ukraine, also survived an apparent assassination attempt. Anton reportedly was entering a Russian-run grain operator’s garage when an explosive device detonated. “Anton was lucky, the main direction of the explosion went past him. He was just grazed,” according to another pro-Russian official.
WHO DOESN’T LIKE A HOT CORVETTE? Well, the Kremlin perhaps – if you are referring to a naval corvette like their ship the Serpukhov, which was stationed at a Baltic naval base in Kaliningrad. Ukraine’s military intelligence director reportedly has claimed responsibility for causing the ship to catch fire – 800 miles away from the main naval zone of conflict in the Black Sea. It is not clear exactly how the fire might have been set – but somehow, they appear to have gotten an incendiary device aboard the ship that caused substantial damage. The current status of the Serpukhov is unclear – but sources told Ukrainian media that it was severely damaged and will take a very long time to repair.
APPARENTLY, THERE IS NO WORD IN FRENCH FOR “HONEYTRAP”: Or so it would seem, according to the French intelligence agency the Directorate General for External Security (DGSE.) A documentary that aired on French television quoted a DGSE operative as saying that the Russians have learned that if they try to blackmail married French intelligence officers by entrapping them with illicit romantic relationships – the standard reply from the Frenchman is “Go ahead, my wife already knows.” Speculation in the British media is that the DGSE cooperated with the documentary to help offset bad publicity they’ve gotten on other matters.
DID EX-SEAL SENATE HOPEFUL SHOOT SELF IN FOOT? No. Well, not literally anyway. But former Navy SEAL Tim Sheehy who is running for the Senate in Montana is now saying that he lied in 2015 when he said he accidentally shot himself in the arm when he dropped a Colt .45 revolver in a national park. Why lie about that? He says it was to cover up having failed to tell authorities he had been shot in the arm (perhaps accidentally by a fellow SEAL) in Afghanistan in 2012. The whole thing, as laid out in the Washington Post, is more than a little confusing. Since “trust me, I lied” is not the best talking point, Sheehy now says: “I guess the only thing I’m guilty of is admitting to doing something I never did.” An earlier story in the Post says that Sheeny told an audience in Montana that, “I’m a war hero, a job creator, a philanthropist,” although his spokesperson told the paper that he “humbly served our nation” and “never called himself a hero, but he served alongside plenty of them.” There is no doubt that Sheehy did serve with distinction – but some of his stories may not be bulletproof.
SHAMELESS (Self-promotion): An inside look at what’s happening behind-the-scenes at The Cipher Brief:
WHEN IS JACK BAUER COMING BACK: The Cipher Brief HONORS Dinner is making a splash on the DC Dinner Circuit by paying respects to those who have significantly contributed to the national security dialogue over the years.Included in the list of honorees this year, is Hollywood Executive Producer and Showrunner of ‘24’ and ‘Homeland’ Howard Gordon. Like any good investigative media organization, The Cipher Brief did some sleuthing and talked to those who have worked closely with Gordon over the years, including Claire Danes (known for her role as CIA Officer Carrie Mathison in Homeland) and Kiefer Sutherland (known for his role playing the terrorist-fighting Jack Bauer in ‘24’). We hear that somewhere in the conversation, the question came up asking when ‘Jack is coming back’. We would tell you what Sutherland said about that, but we’d rather show you. Make sure you subscribe to The Cipher Brief’s YouTube channel and once the dinner is over, we’ll share what he said.
THE REAL DEAL: The Cipher Brief HONORS Dinner isn’t all fun and games. Another award being presented that night is the ‘Impact through Intelligence & Diplomacy Award’ being presented to CIA Director Bill Burns. Can you guess which former CIA Director and former Director of National Intelligence will be on hand to announce the award? Hit us up on LinkedIn with your guess.
POCKET LITTER: Dead Droplets and bits and pieces of interesting /weird stuff we discovered:
THE FEW, THE NOT SO PROUD: A photograph went viral last weekend purportedly showing a uniformed Marine Corps color guard posing with some leggy ladies at a fundraising event at former President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club. The image immediately sparked outrage in some circles due to the assumption that the fundraiser was a political event – the likes of which military personnel, in uniform, should not be participating. Some folks speculated that the photo was not recent – or perhaps the Leathernecks shown were not real Marines based on their appearance. This week, Marine Corps officials cleared matters up a bit – saying that the event was not political or tied to Trump. They said the event was held at Mar-a-Lago but was hosted by a non-profit organization dedicated to preventing military suicides. Turns out the color guard was made up of reserve members of the 4th Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company. What may have stung were some of the comments on social media before the official explanation. Some observers opined that the Marines’ uniforms were not entirely shipshape –and found it odd that none of the four-man team seemed to have managed to earn a single service ribbon. No doubt they will polish their shoes a bit more before their next public engagement and perhaps they will earn a Meritorious Mar-a-Lago Ballroom medal.
WE TAKE A SHINE TO READERS WHO FLAG NEWS ITEMS THAT MIGHT ADD COLOR TO THE NEXT EDITION OF THE DEAD DROP. IF YOU HAVE SUCH ITEMS, YOU MAY EMAIL US AT: TheDeadDrop@theCipherBrief.com
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