They are taught for years to be someone else. They are then sent abroad to gather intelligence information. Now two Russian illegals, and their family, are part of the largest prisoner exchange since the Cold War. They were behind the most secret intelligence operation in Slovenia in recent times. Completely normal family The year is 2017. Married couple Maria Mayer and Ludwig Gisch from Argentina settled in Slovenia with their two children. They want to get away from crime in their home country and live a safer life in Europe. The family moves into a house in Črnuče, a quiet suburb outside the capital Ljubljana. Ludwig runs a newly started IT company, while Maria has a digital art gallery. The children go to an international school in the capital. From the outside, they seem like a completely normal family. A few years later, it will turn out that the whole thing is a sham. It was in this house in Črnuče that the family lived. Photo: Darko Bandic / AP The shock message One winter day in 2022, the shock message comes. The married couple are arrested, accused of being Russian spies using false Argentine identities. The case is seen as the most secretive and well-coordinated police and intelligence operation in recent times in Slovenia, writes The Guardian. Neighbors refuse to believe what they hear. – She was a gray mouse. I don’t think she could have been a spy, say acquaintances of the couple to the British newspaper. Russian spies A court in Slovenia convicts the married couple of spying on EU and NATO countries under false Argentine identities. It turns out that the couple are actually the Russian spies Artem Dultsev and Anna Dultseva. They work for Russian intelligence and use false identities to obtain information. They have long training in pretending to be foreigners with a cover story. On 31 July this year, the married couple plead guilty to espionage and document forgery, according to the District Court in Ljubljana. The court building where the couple were convicted of espionage on 31 July this year. Photo: Darko Bandic / AP This happens just one day before the biggest prisoner exchange since the Cold War. The Russian spies become important bargaining chips for the West and contribute to progress in the negotiations with the Russians. It becomes clear that the whole family of four will be part of the exchange. Children in the dark The two young children, a boy and a girl, were not told they were Russian until they boarded the plane from Ankara to Moscow on Thursday, the Kremlin says. – Before that time they did not know that they were Russian or that they had anything to do with Russia, says spokesperson Dmitry Peskov. When the family landed on Russian soil, they were met by President Vladimir Putin, who welcomed them in Spanish. The children did not know who would like them on the way down the flight stairs. The West exchanged eight Russian and Belarusian prisoners for 16 Western and opposition Russians. Photo: Mikhail Voskresensky / Reuters Dmitry Peskov confirms on Friday that the couple is illegal. That means secret agents who live abroad for years under a false identity, and who send intelligence information home. It is not unusual for illegals to have children who do not know the true identity of their parents. – This is how the illegals work. They make such sacrifices out of dedication to the job, says the spokesperson. Blend into the crowd – A spy must be a shoe player, but a shoe player who does not need an audience, a stage or recognition from others, said Elena Vavilova to The Guardian. Vavilova worked as an illegal Russian agent in Canada for over 20 years. According to her, the perfect spy must blend into the crowd, not seek attention or need external recognition. Published 02.08.2024, at 21.46
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When the family in the street turns out to be Russian spies – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
