Russia’s military intelligence agency, the GRU, established a clandestine unit known as the Department of Special Tasks (SSD) to conduct covert operations across Europe and North America, The Wall Street Journal reported.
According to the report, which cites Western intelligence officials, the SSD’s operations include carrying out assassinations and sabotage abroad, infiltrating Western companies and universities, and recruiting foreign agents. It operates actively in Ukraine and Russia-aligned nations, including Serbia.
Established in 2023, the unit operates from the GRU headquarters, a fortified complex on Moscow’s outskirts referred to as “the aquarium.” It is composed of Russian intelligence factions, including the notorious Unit 29155, which was implicated in the 2018 poisoning of former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal in the United Kingdom.
Veterans from some of Russia’s most infamous covert operations in recent years are also part of the group, according to the report.
Colonel General Andrey Averyanov, who is wanted by Czech authorities for his alleged involvement in a 2014 ammunition depot explosion, leads the SSD. His deputy, Lieutenant General Ivan Kasianenko, oversees covert operations in Europe and has been linked to the Skripal poisoning.
Notable operations attributed to the SSD involve attempts to assassinate the CEO of German arms manufacturer Rheinmetall and plots to place incendiary devices on DHL cargo planes. These actions are perceived as efforts to weaken Western support for Ukraine.
The European Union and the United States have already imposed sanctions on SSD members, accusing them of orchestrating coups, assassinations, and cyberattacks. Western intelligence agencies, which also expressed concern over the SSD’s operations, advocate for enhanced counterintelligence measures to counteract Russian aggression.
The Kremlin has dismissed allegations by Western nations as unfounded.
