Helsinki: A former US intelligence officer has alleged that Russian deep-cover spies are active in Finland and that the country is already engaged in a 'secret war' with Moscow through hybrid operations. Sean Wiswesser, a former officer with the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) who has tracked Russian President Vladimir Putin for decades, told Finland's public broadcaster Yle that Russia continues to deploy sophisticated intelligence and disinformation tactics to destabilize Western democracies.

According to Anadolu Agency, Wiswesser stated that Russia views Finland as a key target in its broader hybrid warfare campaign, relying on cyber operations, propaganda, and covert influence rather than traditional military force. He asserted that whether Finland recognizes it or not, the country was already in a secret war with Russia and their intelligence services before joining NATO.

Wiswesser argued that Putin's long-term goal remains to restore the geopolitical influence once held by the Soviet Union. Putin has been quoted as saying that the collapse of the Soviet Union was the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the 20th century and seeks to reverse it at any cost.

The former CIA officer warned that Russia continues to deploy so-called 'illegals,' highly trained intelligence officers living under false identities, across Europe and NATO countries. He emphasized that there are Russian intelligence officers in Finland living normal lives across different parts of society, including all NATO countries, likening it to a game of chess where Finland is outnumbered by Russian intelligence services.

Wiswesser highlighted that Russia's domestic intelligence agency, the FSB, employs about 100,000 agents, providing Moscow with a significant operational advantage. He explained that Russia prefers hybrid tactics to direct confrontation, using cyberattacks, propaganda, and financial leverage as primary tools rather than crossing borders with military force.

He also pointed out that Finland's long border with Russia poses ongoing security challenges, with parts not as closely monitored as they should be, which Russia knows how to exploit. Wiswesser stressed that Moscow's strategic patience contrasts with Western political cycles, noting that Putin and his apparatus think decades ahead, whereas in the West, the political cycle is four years.

Since joining NATO in April 2023, Finland has ended decades of military non-alignment in response to Russia's war on Ukraine. Helsinki has since reinforced its eastern border and boosted its cybersecurity and counterintelligence capacities.