Spotlight | China, Russia
Moscow's Chinese recruits strain relations with Beijing

The Intelligence Gazette
Moscow's Bashkir recruits, police intel focus on terrorism, Guoanbu and social media, ODNI's Russia division

Appointments, reforms and the issues at stake: every Monday, Intelligence Online serves up snippets big and small from the global intelligence community.

RussiaKremlin sends ever more Bashkir men to war to avoid general mobilisation

FranceA quarter of territorial police intelligence staff focused on radicalisation and terrorism

ChinaGuoanbu warns of dangers of social media recordings

United StatesDNI's Russia office shrinks ahead of second Trump administration

Russia, Serbia, Ukraine
Serbian recruits in Luhansk rebel amid intra-elite election competition

As Russia's ruling clans prepare to do battle in the lead up to March's presidential elections, troops on the ground see the intra-elite tensions as a means to push for better conditions.

Spotlight | Hungary, Russia
Moscow revives timid attempt to recruit Hungarian fighters

As it continues to drive a recruitment campaign for Serbian fighters to bulk up its armed forces, Russia has dusted off a shelved project to do the same among the ethnic Hungarian population.

Russia
Moscow puts plans to deploy Serbian soldiers in Ukraine on hold

Following Intelligence Online's investigation, the Kremlin hurriedly deployed a PR counteroffensive and paused its operation to integrate Serbian soldiers in its army to fight in Ukraine. Belgrade, meanwhile, has made a diplomatic U-turn.

Russia
Moscow region hires Serbian private soldiers for imminent deployment to Ukraine

Intelligence Online has obtained details of a secret operation from Moscow in Belgrade to recruit nearly 500 Balkan nationals to fight in Ukraine.

Russia
Presidential administration steps up its covert mobilisation effort

Despite official assurances that the mobilisation campaign is over, the Kremlin is making use of its regional administrative resources to bring in more troops. Different forms of pressure are being used to recruit at state-owned and parastatal companies and among vulnerable sections of the population.