When recruiting agents, special services always look for vulnerabilities in people. Gamblers are a group of people who are a gold mine for special services.
This was stated in an interview with journalist Ramina Eshakzai by Kyrylo Budanov, Head of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, according to a correspondent for Ukrinform.
Responding to a question about how agents are recruited, the Head of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense explained that a search is conducted for vulnerabilities, which are usually found in a person’s lifestyle and other information that can be found about them.
“If a person has serious problems, they are a potential candidate for recruitment,” Budanov said.
He also agreed with the journalist’s assumption that a citizen looking for money, for example, for an operation for a loved one, could potentially become a target for recruitment. “Gamblers are exactly what they need. Gamblers are a gold mine for recruitment,” the head of the Main Intelligence Directorate emphasized.
Responding to a question about how a person can tell that they are being recruited, he said that stories about people not understanding what they are doing are fairy tales.
“Because when someone from an unknown number writes: ‘Go see where the car is parked, then go to a vacant lot, dig up a large package under the third tree, take it and put it under that car at around 6 a.m., and then stand nearby and take a video of what happens on your phone,’ it’s a lie. Everyone understands everything,” Budanov emphasized.
He expressed the opinion that the recruited individuals may not understand who they are working for.
“This is normal practice — [recruiters] can pretend to be anyone. They can introduce themselves as European intelligence agents—this is very common. It’s not often that Russians say, ‘We are the Russian FSB or GRU, we are recruiting you.’ That doesn’t happen. But what they [the people carrying out the tasks] understand in their subconsciousness is what they are doing – 100%,” Kyrylo Budanov is convinced.
Responding to a question about what recruiters pressure teenagers the most when it comes to getting them to carry out tasks, he explained that it is money. “We have always worked this way; it is not new. It has always been this way,” Budanov emphasized.
In addition, the Head of the Main Intelligence Directorate stated that, in principle, agents cannot be trusted at all.
“Everyone starts from the idea that an agent is a potential person who can be a pawn in someone else’s game. But we are all human, and at the same time, everyone tries to take care of the agent with a normal attitude. However, the percentage of those who are provocateurs or double agents is quite significant. Especially double agents — there are plenty of them, and they work equally well for both sides,” he said.
Responding to a question about the motives of these individuals, Budanov explained that it was about money.
“As for double agents, you can understand that he is working for the enemy, and you can play with him in the same way. [You pretend that you don’t notice anything], give him stupid tasks, and so on. This distracts him to an unnecessary object, etc.,” said the Head of the Main Intelligence Directorate.
As reported by Ukrinform, Budanov said that the specialists of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense have already begun to actively use AI technologies in their work.
Source: Budanov: Gambling is gold mine for recruiting agents
