Russia Re-establishes Soviet Counter-Intelligence Unit 'Smersh'

The move is seen as part of Russia's portrayal of the ongoing conflict with Ukraine in the spirit of the Second World War.

Russia has decided to re-establish the Soviet counter-intelligence organization 'Smersh', as confirmed by British intelligence and open-source images of operatives wearing Smersh uniform patches.
Smersh, an abbreviation of the Russian phrase for 'death to spies', was originally established by Joseph Stalin and existed from 1941-1946.
It is unclear whether the re-establishment of Smersh indicates any substantive new capabilities or role for Russia's counter-intelligence function, or whether it is merely a re-badging.
The re-establishment of Smersh is seen as another example of how the Russian authorities are portraying the Russia-Ukraine conflict in the spirit of the Second World War and their focus on the supposed infiltration of external threats into the country.
Smersh was originally formed to combat Nazi infiltration in the Red Army during World War II, and to repress dissent and insurgency in territory occupied by the Soviet Union in East Europe and Germany.