An agent of Russia’s GRU military-intelligence agency has charmed her way into the NATO command in Italy, befriending dozens of officers, according to the results of a joint investigation by several European outlets, published on Friday.
An agent of Russia’s GRU military-intelligence agency has charmed her way into the NATO command in Italy, befriending dozens of officers, according to the results of a joint investigation by several European outlets, published on Friday.Image by Arek Socha from Pixabay
The 10-month probe was conducted by Italy’s La Reppublica daily, Germany’s Der Spiegel newspaper and the investigative groups The Insider and Bellingcat, Poland’s dziennik.pl website reported.
The investigation found that a Russian agent, 30-year-old Olga Kolobova who “presented herself as a Peru-born jeweller with a chaotic personal life,” sought over several years to befriend NATO officials working at the pact’s Allied Joint Force Command in Italy, Bellingcat said.
Using the cover identity of “Maria Adela Kuhfeldt Rivera,” Kolobova became a popular socialite in Naples, serving as Secretary of the local Lions Club frequented by numerous NATO officers, according to the investigation.
Moreover, Kolobova had “romantic relationships with a number of NATO officers,” Bellingcat said.
It is not known what kind of information Kolobova was able to obtain through her contacts in NATO, La Repubblica wrote.
It reported that the Russian spy spent “10 years circling between Rome and Naples,” befriending high-ranking NATO and American Navy officials.
“And then she flew away to Moscow,” the Italian newspaper added, as cited by dziennik.pl.
“No Russian agent has managed to infiltrate so deep into NATO command before,” La Repubblica said, as quoted by dziennik.pl.
The revelation came as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continued for the 184th day.
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Source: dziennik.pl, wp.pl, bellingcat.com