Overview

• Leaked eight-page FSB memorandum was authenticated by six Western intelligence agencies and is believed to have been drafted in late 2023 or early 2024.
• A previously undisclosed FSB unit brands China “the enemy” and launched the Entente-4 counterintelligence program three days before Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.
• The memo accuses Chinese agents of spying on Russian military operations in Ukraine, recruiting disaffected scientists and intelligence officers, and using Arctic mining firms and university research centers for intelligence gathering.
• It warns that Beijing may be laying groundwork to challenge Russia’s Far East territorial claims by publishing maps with Chinese place names and researching traces of ancient Chinese peoples.
• The FSB has mandated high-level approval for any operations against China and instructed officers to feed Chinese agents positive assessments of Russia’s performance in Ukraine.