Russia conducts espionage operations in Ireland, says Irish intelligence chief

Russia is one of the few countries actively attempting to conduct espionage activities in Ireland, said Michael McElgunn, head of the Security and Intelligence Division of the Irish police, according to RTE. Since the start of the all-out Russia's war, Ireland has provided shelter to thousands of Ukrainian refugees. In addition, recently, Dublin announced it prepared a bilateral military aid agreement with Kyiv. The amount of aid, weapons, and technology that would be provided to Ukraine currently remains unknown. In many countries that supply Kyiv with arms, Russia has established spy networks that conduct attacks on factories where weapons are produced. It seeks ways to influence governments and the population to reduce support for Ukraine. The chief of the intelligence department claimed that Russia seeks to support extremist groups in Ireland to undermine its government, steal state secrets, and spy on its industrial network. The agency continues to work closely with other European intelligence organizations to manage the entry of suspected spies into Ireland.

"We have a duty to investigate and manage the threats from hostile states and that includes espionage in the state. We are committed to monitoring the particular threats. Russia is one of those countries we have an interest in," said McElgunn.

He explained that despite Ireland's efforts to maintain ties with Moscow, the country is aware of Russian attempts to conduct spy activities there. Earlier, Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar came to Kyiv with a working visit shortly after Ukraine found a component allegedly made in Ireland in one of the drones launched by Russian troops to target civilians in Mykolaiv Oblast.

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