Who is spy chief Col Gen Sergei Beseda arrested in Ukraine?

Ground Report | New Delhi: Who is spy chief Sergei Beseda; A prominent Russian battlefield commander has been killed and two Russian security officials placed under house arrest, as setbacks appear poised to trigger a purge of intelligence officials.

Colonel-General Sergei Beseda, head of the FSB's foreign intelligence branch, the Fifth Service, was arrested along with his deputy, Anatoly Bolyukh. If they have been detained, Western security officials said it means President Vladimir Putin is "seriously concerned" about faulty intelligence on Ukraine.

"Both of them have played an important role in the intelligence operations against Ukraine for several years and most likely played an important role in planning the invasion of Ukraine," a Western official told a news conference.

"If the arrest claims are correct, this would indicate that Putin is seriously concerned about the FSB, his role in the military campaign, and there could be significant changes at the top levels of the FSB." (Who is spy chief Sergei Beseda)

Colonel-General Beseda, 68, is said to have been arrested for providing faulty intelligence prior to the invasion and for misusing funds earmarked for subversive operations.

The Fifth Service of the FSB is the organization that gave Putin information about the political situation in Ukraine, which may have suggested that the Kyiv government would quickly collapse and be easily replaced by Russian puppets.

The officer unit is part of the Department of Operational Information (DOI) and is officially called the International Relations and Operational Information Service. It is effectively the foreign intelligence branch of the FSB that generally operates in countries along Russia's borders.

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