2025 GRU Exposure in Prague

2025 GRU Exposure in Prague is an incident exposed In March 2025, by the Czech counterintelligence services who uncovered a covert operation involving Belarusian journalist Natalia Sudliankova, who was identified as a key collaborator for Russia's military intelligence agency, the GRU. This revelation led to her expulsion from the Czech Republic and inclusion on the national sanctions list.

Background

The Russian military intelligence agency, commonly known by its Soviet-era acronym GRU (Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation), has long maintained operations across Europe, often using diplomatic postings as cover. The Czech Republic, a NATO and EU member state, has been considered a key target for Russian espionage due to its strategic location, military cooperation with Western allies, and relatively small counterintelligence capacity.^[1][2]

Czech intelligence agencies, particularly the Security Information Service (BIS), have repeatedly warned of Russian and Chinese espionage activities. The situation escalated significantly in 2021 with the Czech government's exposure of GRU Unit 29155's involvement in the 2014 Vrbětice ammunition depot explosions.^[3][1] That incident resulted in the largest diplomatic expulsion in Czech history and led to a dramatic reduction of Russian embassy personnel in Prague.^[1][2][4][5]

Natalia Sudliankova (Shevko) (Belarusian: Натальля Судлянкова (Шевко); born 9 June 1964)^[6] had been active in the Czech Republic since 1999, initially seeking political asylum and later establishing herself as a journalist.^[7][8] She contributed to various media outlets, including the Belarusian service of Radio Free Europe, Týden magazine, Lidové noviny, and the Russian daily Izvestia, focusing primarily on Russian political affairs.^[9][a]

Espionage Activities

According to Czech authorities, Sudliankova operated under the direction of GRU officer Alexey Shavrov. Her activities included:

• Publishing articles in Czech media as per GRU instructions.^[11]
• Collaborating with Russian organizations such as the Fund for the Support and Protection of the Rights of Compatriots Living Abroad and the Immortal Regiment of Russia.^[9][12][13]
• Engaging in operations on behalf of sanctioned Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanov and cooperating with Rosatom, the Russian state nuclear corporation.^[9][11]
• Sudliankova received payments amounting to tens of thousands of euros in cryptocurrencies for her services.^[9][11]

Government Response

In response to the intelligence findings, the Czech government quietly expelled at least three Russian diplomatic staff in March 2025, citing "activities inconsistent with their diplomatic status." While officials did not publicly name the individuals, press reports later identified them as GRU-linked. Further actions included:

• Sanctions: Sudliankova and Shavrov were placed on the Czech national sanctions list, resulting in asset freezes and travel bans.^[9]
• Expulsion: Sudliankova was given 30 days to leave the country.^[9][11][13]
• Legislative Measures: The Czech government proposed their inclusion on the EU sanctions list and introduced legislation targeting unauthorized activities for foreign powers.^[9][11]

Implications

This incident highlighted the ongoing challenges faced by the Czech Republic in countering foreign espionage, particularly from Russian intelligence services. It underscored the necessity for robust counterintelligence measures and legislative frameworks to safeguard national security.^[14][9][11]

See also

• GRU (Russian Federation)
• Espionage in the Czech Republic
• Czech–Russia Relations
• Unit 29155

Notes

1. Allegedly, her efforts were supervised by the GRU officer Alexei Nikolayevich Shavrov (Russian: Алексей Николаевич Шавров; born 12 December 1989)^[6] who is also known as Andrey Petrov (Russian: Андрей Петров)^[6] and is registered in Moscow at 21/2 Svoboda Street (Russian: в Москве на улице Свободы, дом 21/2) which is home to two units that conduct operations to interfere in the politics of other countries and conduct hacker attacks: both the Center for Operational Coordination of Military Command and Control Bodies (Russian: Центр оперативной координации органов военного управления) and the Ministry of Defense's Special Research Center (Russian: Специальный научно-исследовательский центр Министерства обороны). The Ministry of Defense's Special Research Center recruits hackers into one of the scientific companies of the Ministry of Defense. It is associated with the GRU military unit 74455 (Russian: воинской частью ГРУ 74455) which were accused both of hacking the servers of the US Democratic Party in 2016 and of an unsuccessful cyberattack on the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) office in the Netherlands.^[7][10]