“Very interesting—but maybe very wrong: The London Times alleges 150 FSB officers have been fired—and some arrested—over failures in Ukraine”

1/

Very interesting—but maybe very wrong: The London Times alleges 150 FSB officers have been fired—and some arrested—over failures in Ukraine.

The problem is the source of the story: @bellingcat, a known CIA front and purveyor of disinformation.

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/putin-purges-150-fsb-agents-in-response-to-russias-botched-war-with-ukraine-lf9k6tn6g?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1649702327-1

2/

Let’s keep an open mind.

The Times: “All of those ousted were employees of the Fifth Service, a division set up in 1998 when Putin was director of the FSB to carry out operations in the countries of the former Soviet Union with the aim of keeping them within Russia’s orbit.”

3/

More: “The service’s former chief, Sergei Beseda, 68, has been sent to Lefortovo prison in Moscow.”

Beseda is the same age as Putin—they were probably friends or at least friendly for +25 years. So to send such a colleague to prison is an incredibly powerful message.

4/4

I would speculate that of these 150 FSB who were fired, most would have have been incompetent—but of the arrested, some might have been ~compromised by Ukrainian intelligence~. And now with the invasion, the FSB might have found evidence of this treason.

Just a thought.

Originally tweeted by Gonzalo Lira (@realGonzaloLira) on April 12, 2022.