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Le cueilleur Profile picture
@LCueilleur
Sep 30, 2022 • 7 tweets • 4 min read • Read on X
Hunt for diplomatic pouch
#thread

The @tageblatt_lu has a story about a plane crash 40 years ago in Luxembourg. One important detail is missing: the interest Western intel services in the wreckage of the Aeroflot Flight 343. 1/7 tageblatt.lu/headlines/sieb…
7 passengers die in Luxembourg on 29 September 1982 when an Aeroflot IL-62M aircraft fails to land. The plane from Moscow was en route to Ireland, Cuba, Nicaragua and Peru via Luxembourg. In the luggage of the plane there is a lot of diplomatic pouches for the destinations 2/7
Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations (1961) - Article 27 states: "The diplomatic bag shall not be opened or detained.“ So it's not no baggage, and it's untouchable. However, for intelligence services it is a treasure. And this treasure lies in the wreckage of the IL-62M 3/7 Image
The then #SRE (Luxembourg State intel service )Chief of Operations Charles Hoffmann recalls a couple of men from off duty. They immerse in the chaos at the scene of the accident. Their target: the diplomatic pouch from Moscow. "Observers" from the US Embassy were also on site 4/7
An eyewitness observes men from the Soviet embassy searching the wreckage. He says there were people everywhere, even those who had no business being there. It is unclear whether the intelligence services from East and West found what they were looking for 5/7 Image
A 106-page #CIA study (date unknown) explains in detail how a Soviet embassy or mission works - including diplomatic pouch. Excerpt: „RIS (Russian Intel Services) pouch procedures are far too complicated to be described in this study.“ 6/7 Source: cia.gov/readingroom/do… Image
More background on the #SRE and the Soviets in Luxembourg👇 7/7

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More from @LCueilleur

Le cueilleur Profile picture
Feb 2
Horst Schwirkmann died a year ago today. He was a long-time #Bundesnachrichtendienst staff member and an expert in radio defence (Funkabwehr). An absolute master of his trade. To this day he is the only officially known victim of a Soviet poison gas attack on a #BND employee 1/8 Image
He survived but his recovery was long and painful. Moscow 1963, the West German embassy was extensively bugged by the #KGB. At the time Horst Schwirkmann was an electronics specialist at the #BND's Central Cipher Centre - Zentralstelle für das Chiffrierwesen (ZfCh) in Bonn 2/8
His job: to track down bugs and other hidden #KGB microphones. He quickly finds what he is looking for. The #BND bug sweeper uses a trick on the mass of microphones. He injects a very high voltage into the microphone cable 3/8
Read 8 tweets
Le cueilleur Profile picture
Dec 20, 2023
The SIGINT water tower
#thread

An inconspicuous water tower in the direct vicinity of the Soviet embassy in Bonn plays an important role in the #ColdWar. It was a secret listening post for years. Radio signals from the embassy were intercepted here 1/7 Image
In 1975, the Soviet embassy moves to Viktorshöhe in Bonn. A new building is quickly erected on the site. USSR technicians rapidly expand the #SIGINT capacities on the buildings. The location on the hill is ideal for interception operations 2/7
The West German intel services, with the help of the US, are also very interested in information from the new embassy. The phone lines are tapped. The entrances to the embassy grounds are monitored with video cameras. Secret equipment is installed in the neighbouring houses 3/7
Read 8 tweets
Le cueilleur Profile picture
Dec 26, 2022
The current espionage case in the #Bundesnachrichtendienst shakes the NATO intelligence community. There could hardly be a worse time than now. The alleged spy is said to be a senior staff member from the top-secret #BND SIGINT division 1/9
The person works there in the evaluation department, according to media reports. On European soil, the #BND is one of the big players with its #SIGINT capacities. He is an important intelligence tool in the work against Russia in the Ukraine war 2/9
In view of the war in Ukraine, the current espionage case could turn into a disaster for the #BND. Partner services cut off the flow of information. Trust is gone. This is likely to paralyse the work of the BND for years - much to Moscow's advantage 3/9
Read 9 tweets
Le cueilleur Profile picture
Dec 13, 2022
Moscow's ears in Belgium
#thread

#NATO headquarters, EU Commission and centre of important lobbying organisations. Brussels is a strategically important target for Russian espionage. But Moscow's embassy and two cultural facilities have another mission 1/7
The Russian Embassy in the Uccle district in Brussels is large. There are many buildings on the premises. The roof of a residential building and the main building are particularly eye-catching. 17 satellite dishes (red), different antennas (green) and 5 #sigint sheds (yellow) 2/7
The multi-storey residential building in particular stands out with its spy technology. Both buildings on Bing Maps Birdseye 3/7
Read 7 tweets
Le cueilleur Profile picture
Nov 26, 2022
Moscow's ears in Germany

#thread
Germany is an important spy target for Moscow. Russia also uses the country as a base for satellite espionage - the platform for this are diplomatic missions and a cultural centre. There are a few interesting details 1/12
Russian #SIGINT activities in Germany have increased significantly in the last decade. In the middle of Berlin, on the edge of the government district, surrounded by government administration buildings, lies the Russian Embassy 2/12
On the roof of the property you can see the classic HF "Cage dipole" as well as other receiving antennas bild.de/politik/inland… 3/12
Read 12 tweets
Le cueilleur Profile picture
Oct 27, 2022
Russian cultural institutions raise eyebrows in Western counterintelligence. Not without reason. They are seen as a gateway for #SVR #GRU and #FSB. The A.S. Pouchkine Cultural Centre 32, rue Goethe in Luxembourg is also suspected of espionage. A few interesting details 1/10
In an undated interview, former Rossotrudnichestvo official Tatiana Poloskova criticises the cultural institution's involvement with intelligence services. Poloskova is a political analyst and state advisor of the Russian Federation. She knows Putin's power apparatus 2/10
Tatiana Poloskova: "Everyone knows that they are from the #FSB. Of course, no one wants to say that, but in the host countries this label is firmly attached to them. I think this is not so much the result of propaganda as a mistake in our personnel policy“ 3/10
Read 10 tweets

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