Czech intelligence chief Michal Koudelka has spent decades uncovering Russian spy networks, sabotage attempts and disinformation campaigns against Europe.
Speaking in an interview from a high-security compound on the outskirts of Prague, he is now warning allies that pushing Kyiv to accept significant concessions to end the war in Ukraine would only embolden the Kremlin.
“Russia would spend perhaps the next 10 to 15 years recovering from its huge human and economic losses and preparing for the next target, which is central and eastern Europe,” said Koudelka, a major general who heads the country’s Security Information Service.
Photo: AP
“If Ukraine loses, or is forced to accept a bad peace deal, then Russia will perceive that as victory,” he added.
His assessment is backed up by other European intelligence services. Germany’s top spy, Bruno Kahl, last month warned that Russian President Vladimir Putin would be prepared for a military engagement with NATO by the end of the decade.
Koudelka said that international law requires Russia to withdraw all troops, return occupied or annexed territories and pay reparations. Kyiv has recently come under pressure to consider new ways to lure Putin to negotiating table after 1,000 days resisting the invasion.
A former Soviet satellite, the Czech Republic is a staunch supporter of Ukraine, hosting hundreds of thousands of war refugees and organizing shipments of donated ammunition.
Together with Poland, as well as the Baltic and Scandinavian countries, it is trying to persuade other allies to keep arming the war-torn nation, despite waning public support and battlefield setbacks.
The 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine should remind Western nations that Russia is “an imperial superpower with imperial desires” and has “absolute disdain” for its military losses and civilian deaths, Koudelka said.
Since he became the intelligence chief eight years ago, the Czech Republic has taken drastic steps to reduce Russian intelligence capabilities and influence over local politics and business. It has banned Russian suppliers from a nuclear-energy project, reduced dependence on its natural gas and expelled a vast majority of the Kremlin’s spies with diplomatic cover.
Unlike some other European nations, the government in Prague has taken steps to make it harder for Russians to visit the country, own businesses or properties there, and obtain Czech citizenship. It is now trying to persuade the EU to ban Russian diplomats from traveling between member states without visas, as a way to further curb intelligence activity.
Still, Koudelka said his country remains a target for Russian hybrid warfare, including traditional spying, cyberattacks, disinformation campaigns and subversion. The intelligence community across Europe is also preparing for likely threats after the war ends, such as an influx of Ukrainian veterans and the smuggling of arms that could end up in the wrong hands.
The 59-year-old lifelong counterterrorism and counterintelligence officer dismissed concerns in Europe that the incoming administration of US president-elect Donald Trump might weaken the security and intelligence cooperation between the US and Europe.
“I worked with our American partners under President Trump before and it was really great,” Koudelka said, pointing to his experience with intelligence sharing under previous administration. “The same is true now under President [Joe} Biden. And I am 100 percent convinced that it will be equally great during Trump’s second term.”
Koudelka called on Western nations to avoid exposing themselves to fresh security threats and economic dependencies when they resume business and diplomatic relations with Russia in the future.
He added that Russia was an “aggressor who only understands strength” and the outcome of the war would determine the likelihood of a future global conflict directly involving NATO.
“If facing a strong country or a strong alliance, Russia will make the calculation that it isn’t worth messing with it,” he said. “If, by contrast, Russia concludes that the war in Ukraine has paid off, and that European countries are weak and NATO lacks unity, then it may try something new.”
A fire caused by a burst gas pipe yesterday spread to several homes and sent a fireball soaring into the sky outside Malaysia’s largest city, injuring more than 100 people. The towering inferno near a gas station in Putra Heights outside Kuala Lumpur was visible for kilometers and lasted for several hours. It happened during a public holiday as Muslims, who are the majority in Malaysia, celebrate the second day of Eid al-Fitr. National oil company Petronas said the fire started at one of its gas pipelines at 8:10am and the affected pipeline was later isolated. Disaster management officials said shutting the
DITCH TACTICS: Kenyan officers were on their way to rescue Haitian police stuck in a ditch suspected to have been deliberately dug by Haitian gang members A Kenyan policeman deployed in Haiti has gone missing after violent gangs attacked a group of officers on a rescue mission, a UN-backed multinational security mission said in a statement yesterday. The Kenyan officers on Tuesday were on their way to rescue Haitian police stuck in a ditch “suspected to have been deliberately dug by gangs,” the statement said, adding that “specialized teams have been deployed” to search for the missing officer. Local media outlets in Haiti reported that the officer had been killed and videos of a lifeless man clothed in Kenyan uniform were shared on social media. Gang violence has left
US Vice President J.D. Vance on Friday accused Denmark of not having done enough to protect Greenland, when he visited the strategically placed and resource-rich Danish territory coveted by US President Donald Trump. Vance made his comment during a trip to the Pituffik Space Base in northwestern Greenland, a visit viewed by Copenhagen and Nuuk as a provocation. “Our message to Denmark is very simple: You have not done a good job by the people of Greenland,” Vance told a news conference. “You have under-invested in the people of Greenland, and you have under-invested in the security architecture of this
Japan unveiled a plan on Thursday to evacuate around 120,000 residents and tourists from its southern islets near Taiwan within six days in the event of an “emergency”. The plan was put together as “the security situation surrounding our nation grows severe” and with an “emergency” in mind, the government’s crisis management office said. Exactly what that emergency might be was left unspecified in the plan but it envisages the evacuation of around 120,000 people in five Japanese islets close to Taiwan. China claims Taiwan as part of its territory and has stepped up military pressure in recent years, including
RSS