Finland denies Russian propaganda's claims of recruiting Russians

The Finnish Security Police (Supo) has denied the allegations spread by Russian propaganda about the alleged recruitment of Russians in the country.

Supo said this in a comment to the STT news agency.

At the beginning of the week, stories mentioning the Finnish Security Police were broadcast, in particular, by the Russian state-owned TV channels Rossiya-24 and Russia Today (RT), after which articles about it appeared in other Russian media.

For example, the propaganda newspaper Vesti published an article titled "Western spies have turned Finland into a training ground for recruiting Russians." It claims that agents of the US, British, Estonian, and Swedish intelligence services most often operate in Finland.

According to the article, foreign agents are actively assisted by the local SUPO, which establishes external surveillance of employees of the Russian embassy and trade mission, collects information about relatives, and tries to draw up psychological portraits.

According to Russian journalists, Russians who have fallen under the attention of "Finnish spies" are being pursued everywhere - "in hairdressing salons, workshops, pharmacies, shops, ateliers, and travel agencies."

Supo's press service commented to STT that the allegations in the Russian media are nothing more than an attempt at information influence aimed primarily at its own citizens.

"In Russian propaganda, the West is presented as the enemy, and Russians are warned against any cooperation with it. Similar slanderous programs against Western intelligence services have been presented in Russia in the past," the intelligence service representative said.

"The task of the Finnish Security Police is to protect the national security of Finland. In fulfilling its task, Supo always complies with Finnish law," he added.

Author - Olena Madiak, 15/08/2023