Britain’s foreign intelligence chief on Wednesday called on Russians “appalled” by their country’s invasion of Ukraine to join his services in London, in a rare public appeal for new operatives.
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In a speech in Prague, Richard Moore, head of MI6, claimed that “many Russians today are silently appalled at the sight of their armed forces bombarding Ukrainian towns, driving innocent families from their homes and kidnapping hundreds of children.
“As they witness the venality, infighting and outright incompetence of their leaders, many Russians face the same dilemmas and the same tugs of conscience as their predecessors did in 1968,” when Moscow was intervened to crush the Prague Spring.
“I invite them (these Russians) to do what others have already done for the past 18 months and to join us,” he said. “Our door is always open,” he added, assuring that the recruitment of spies would be handled “with discretion and professionalism.”
In an interview with the Politico site, Mr. Moore assured that the protection of such spies was “sacred”: “If we could not ensure that, we would go bankrupt, and I can assure you that we are in business.”
The head of MI6 has always been optimistic about Ukraine’s ability to retake territories taken by Russia since the invasion in February 2022.
“Now it looks like there is little chance that the Russians will regain momentum,” he said on Wednesday.
In his speech, delivered at the British Embassy in Prague, Mr. Moore also spoke of the growing role of artificial intelligence in intelligence and espionage.
MI6 uses AI to “augment but not replace our own judgment about how people may behave in certain situations” related to the war in Ukraine.
His teams also use AI in their China-related activities, he said.
“I expect that we will increasingly be tasked with obtaining intelligence on how hostile states use AI in irresponsible and unethical ways,” he noted.
“My service and our allies intend to win the race to master the ethical and safe use of AI,” he said.