The Kremlin on Tuesday mocked the CIA for using Western social media platforms to recruit Russian operatives disillusioned with the country’s political leaders.
The U.S. spy agency’s ad, released Monday, depicts a fictional Russian intelligence officer who gradually comes to the realization that the country’s “true enemy is from within” and decides to contact the CIA “to save Russia.”
“The elite sold out the country for palaces and yachts, while our soldiers chew on rotten potatoes and fire ancient weapons,” the fictional agent says.
At the end of the Russian-language recruitment video, the CIA explains how to anonymously get in touch with its agents via encrypted channels.
“The people surrounding you may not want to hear the truth. We do,” the ad closes.
When asked about the ad on Tuesday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists that it is “common” for intelligence agencies around the world to seek out foreign spies.
“The CIA does it all the time,” Peskov said.
He also questioned the CIA’s choice of social media platforms where the ad was shared, like X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, YouTube, Facebook and Telegram.
“Someone needs to inform the CIA that [the Russian social network] Vkontakte is much more popular in our country than the banned X [formerly Twitter],” he said.
CIA Director of Operations David Marlowe said in November 2022 that the U.S. spy agency was “open for business” to Russians upset over the Kremlin’s war in Ukraine.