{"id":3422,"date":"2025-11-26T11:14:02","date_gmt":"2025-11-26T11:14:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/?p=3422"},"modified":"2025-11-26T11:14:02","modified_gmt":"2025-11-26T11:14:02","slug":"france-detains-four-amid-inquiry-into-suspected-russian-spy-network-espionage-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/?p=3422","title":{"rendered":"France detains four amid inquiry into suspected Russian spy network | Espionage News"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<p class=\"article__subhead\"><em>The arrest of suspected agents in Paris comes amid a wider surge of alleged Russian espionage in Europe.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"article-dates\">\n<p><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Published On 26 Nov 2025<\/span><span aria-hidden=\"true\">26 Nov 2025<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"rich-share\" data-testid=\"rich-share\">\n<div class=\"rich-share__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"rich-share__button-wrapper\"><button class=\"rich-share__button row\" aria-expanded=\"false\"><\/p>\n<p>Click here to share on social media<\/p>\n<p><svg class=\"icon icon--share2 icon--primary icon--16 \" viewbox=\"0 0 20 16\" version=\"1.1\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><title>share2<\/title><path fill=\"#000\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\" d=\"M11.688 9.048c-.659 0-1.252.282-1.673.733l-4.92-2.45c.016-.115.028-.232.028-.352 0-.117-.011-.23-.027-.343l4.913-2.423a2.285 2.285 0 0 0 1.68.739C12.964 4.952 14 3.899 14 2.6 14 1.302 12.965.25 11.688.25S9.377 1.302 9.377 2.601c0 .117.01.23.027.343L4.49 5.367a2.285 2.285 0 0 0-1.68-.739C1.536 4.628.5 5.681.5 6.979c0 1.299 1.035 2.35 2.312 2.35.659 0 1.252-.281 1.673-.731l4.92 2.45a2.357 2.357 0 0 0-.029.351c0 1.299 1.035 2.351 2.312 2.351S14 12.698 14 11.399s-1.035-2.35-2.312-2.35Z\" clip-rule=\"evenodd\"\/><\/svg><\/button><\/p>\n<p class=\"rich-share__social-text\">Share<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div aria-live=\"polite\" aria-atomic=\"true\">\n<p data-start=\"268\" data-end=\"742\">French prosecutors say three people have been placed in custody on suspicion of spying for Russia and promoting its wartime propaganda, while a fourth suspect has been placed under strict police supervision.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"268\" data-end=\"742\">Prosecutors said on Wednesday that the suspects held in detention include a 40-year-old Russian man filmed putting up pro-Moscow posters on the iconic Arc de Triomphe in Paris; a 40-year-old Russian-born woman known as the head of the French-Russian SOS Donbass group, and a 63-year-old man from a northern suburb of Paris.<\/p>\n<section class=\"more-on\">\n<h2 class=\"more-on__heading\">Recommended Stories<!-- --> <\/h2>\n<p><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">list of 4 items<\/span><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">end of list<\/span><\/section>\n<p data-start=\"268\" data-end=\"742\">A fourth suspect, 58, was spared pre-trial detention but placed under strict supervision and ordered to report to the police once a week.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"744\" data-end=\"1281\">The woman leading SOS Donbass, which presents itself as a humanitarian group helping civilians in Ukraine\u2019s eastern Donbas region, had been monitored by France\u2019s domestic intelligence service since early this year, the General Directorate for Internal Security, which is known by its French-language acronym DGSI, said.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"744\" data-end=\"1281\">After detecting \u201cactions likely to harm the fundamental interests of the nation\u201d, the DGSI opened a judicial inquiry in March into suspected offences by the woman, including \u201ccollusion with a foreign power\u201d, a charge that carries up to 10 years in prison.<\/p>\n<p>French counterespionage officials believe the woman was trying to collect economic information from French company executives.<\/p>\n<p>The detentions come as fears of Russian espionage grow across Europe, with countries pointing the finger at Moscow\u2019s spy services amid sabotage attacks as Russia\u2019s war in Ukraine grinds on.<\/p>\n<p>Last month, police in the United Kingdom arrested three men in their 40s under the 2023 National Security Act, accusing them of assisting Russia\u2019s foreign intelligence service.<\/p>\n<p>In a separate case, two young ringleaders of a group were given lengthy sentences on charges of carrying out arson attacks in London on behalf of the Wagner Group \u2013 the Russian state-funded mercenary force.<\/p>\n<p>In March, three Bulgarian nationals were convicted in London of belonging to a Russian spy unit that conducted surveillance for the Kremlin on a US military base and on individuals targeted by Moscow.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"2130\" data-end=\"2548\">Tensions escalated further last week when UK Defence Secretary John Healey said the crew on board the Russian spy ship Yantar had aimed lasers at the pilots of British surveillance aircraft sent to observe the vessel in waters off Scotland.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"2130\" data-end=\"2548\">Healey condemned the move as \u201creckless and dangerous\u201d and said the UK would respond to any territorial incursions.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"2130\" data-end=\"2548\">\u201cWe have military options ready should the Yantar change course\u201d, he said.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"2130\" data-end=\"2548\">The Kremlin has rejected all allegations, accusing London of blaming Russia whenever something \u201cbad\u201d happens in the UK.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"2130\" data-end=\"2548\">Switzerland\u2019s Federal Intelligence Service (FIS) also reports that the country has become an espionage hotspot since Moscow\u2019s invasion of Ukraine. The FIS estimated in 2023 that at least a third of Russia\u2019s 220 accredited officials in the country were likely spies.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"2862\" data-end=\"3324\">The UK Ministry\u00a0of\u00a0Defence said on Sunday that a British patrol vessel intercepted a Russian corvette and tanker in the English Channel, noting Russian naval movements near UK waters had risen by 30 percent in two years.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"2862\" data-end=\"3324\">NATO has also stepped up air patrols along Ukraine\u2019s border following suspected Russian airspace incursions and drone sightings in several member states, including Poland, where authorities last month arrested eight people suspected of espionage and sabotage on behalf of Russia.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"2862\" data-end=\"3324\">In December 2024, Finland seized a Russia-linked ship suspected of deliberately damaging an undersea cable between Finland and Estonia.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The arrest of suspected agents in Paris comes amid a wider surge of alleged Russian espionage in Europe. Published On 26 Nov 202526 Nov 2025 Click here to share on social media share2 Share French prosecutors say three people have been placed in custody on suspicion of spying for Russia and promoting its wartime propaganda, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3423,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3422","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-europe-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3422","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3422"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3422\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3423"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3422"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3422"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3422"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}