Month: October 2023

The Kremlin’s increasing use of Russian Orthodox priests as spies and propagandists is a security threat that the West should counter more decisively.

Bulgaria and North Macedonia have expelled Russian and Belorussian clerics for acts contravening their national security, and in the US the FBI has warned Russian and Greek Orthodox churches that the Kremlin’s intelligence services may be using them to recruit agents.  

Analysts have long warned that the Kremlin employs the Orthodox Church as a tool for advancing its foreign policy and infiltrating European Union (EU) and NATO member states. According to declassified archives, the head of the Church, Patriarch Kirill, worked for both the KGB and its successor, the FSB.  

Kirill has wholeheartedly supported Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, portraying it as a holy war against “Nazis”. During a sermon in September 2022, he reportedly told Russian soldiers that “sacrifice in the course of carrying out your military duty washes away all sins.”  

Kirill sought to justify Putin’s war, saying it was essential to “defend God’s truth” and that Russians and Ukrainians were “really one people” joined by a “common national identity.”  

The Church has served as a sharp power tool for Putin’s foreign policy over other issues as well. In 2018, during a visit to Bulgaria, Kirill used the commemoration of the 140^th anniversary of the 1877-78 Russo-Turkish war, which set Bulgaria on a path to independence, to scold Bulgarian President Rumen Radev for showing “ingratitude” to Moscow.  

The Kremlin envoy had been enraged by a speech from Radev in which he expressed gratitude to the Romanian, Ukrainian, Russian, Belarussian, Finnish, Polish, and Lithuanian soldiers who sacrificed their lives in the war. Kirill called this a “wrong historical interpretation” and said Russia alone deserved thanks for liberating Bulgaria from Ottoman rule.  

His words amounted to a high-handed and clearly political, intervention in the affairs of Bulgaria with a propaganda message designed to amplify divisions in Bulgarian society (where there is a traditional pro-Russian segment of the population), and to assert Russia’s desired image as the sole defender of the Christian world.  

Although the close ties between the Kremlin, its intelligence services, and the Orthodox Church are well-documented, Western governments have hesitated to sanction high-ranking clergy to avoid accusations of violating religious liberty.  

The EU attempted to freeze Kirill’s assets and ban him from entering the bloc for his support for the invasion and propagandist behavior, but Hungary blocked the decision, declaring it to be against “fundamental principles of religious freedom.”  

Others argued that religious freedom cannot be used as an excuse for violating state sovereignty and territorial integrity, nor as a justification for wars of aggression. In addition, Putin’s Russia has shown over and over again that it does not care about religious freedom.  

Bulgarian authorities expelled the representative of the Russian Orthodox Church in Sofia, Archimandrite Vassian Zmeev, who was expelled from Skopje for alleged involvement in Russian espionage.  

Bulgaria’s State Agency for National Security said Zmeev and his colleagues had been involved in “the implementation of various elements of the Russian Federation’s hybrid strategy to purposefully influence socio-political processes in the Republic of Bulgaria in favor of Russian geopolitical interests.”  

In response, Moscow expressed “outrage” and the Russian Patriarch accused the Bulgarian authorities of Satanism. Bulgarian Prime Minister Nikolai Denkov fired back: “Russian priests were not expelled, only people who worked against the national interests of Bulgaria.” 

The West should expose and punish Russia’s hypocrisy in its abuse of religion, and the EU and US should follow the UK’s lead and sanction the Russian Patriarch. Clearly worded political and economic sanctions would make clear that the problem is not Kirill’s religion but the transformation of his church into a mouthpiece for the Kremlin.  

It is Moscow’s use of Russian priests as propagandists and spies that violates religious freedom, not the countries that remove them. 

Impunity is what emboldens the Kremlin to continue weaponizing religion in order to divide and destabilize democracies. The West should expose Russia’s hypocrisy and sanction the propagandists and spies masquerading as clergy.  

Dessie Zagorcheva holds a Ph.D. in International Relations from Columbia University. She specializes in international security with a focus on Russia and Eastern Europe. Her current research examines NATO’s response to Russian sharp power.  

Europe’s Edge is CEPA’s online journal covering critical topics on the foreign policy docket across Europe and North America. All opinions are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the position or views of the institutions they represent or the Center for European Policy Analysis.

As anticipated from the outset, Russia’s launch of what it calls a “special military operation” in Ukraine has had a profound impact on the global balance of power, reshaping international priorities on multiple fronts. Furthermore, the consequences of current Israeli attacks in Gaza are increasingly evident, extending beyond the region’s geographical boundaries.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was quick to confirm his absolute support for Israel and its right to defend itself, following Hamas’ launch of Operation “Al-Aqsa Flood” last week. However, Ukrainian support for Israel was surprising since the latter refused to provide Kyiv with the Iron Dome system to confront Russian air attacks, whether by drones or missiles. Israel also did not join the Western sanctions regime against Moscow. Yet, Ukrainian politicians have realized that support for Israel is a priority for all American administrations. Washington is set to allocate the largest share of military, economic and diplomatic support to defend Israel. In stark contrast, major disagreements have erupted in the U.S. Congress over support packages for Kyiv, in light of the crisis of raising the debt ceiling and fears of closing federal institutions.

It is known that Israel did not implement the sanctions imposed by the West on Russia against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine, and flights and trade exchanges between the two sides continue.

Officials in Tel Aviv have been clear that their caution regarding the Ukraine crisis is due to the desire to maintain the margin of maneuver that Israel enjoys in Syria. Any provocative stance taken by Moscow could reduce its ability to launch airstrikes inside Syrian territory to prevent Iran from establishing itself there and to thwart its attempts to transfer weapons to Hezbollah.

Russian President Vladimir Putin was quick to point out the failure of the United States’ Middle East policy after Operation Al-Aqsa Flood. Zelenskyy, regardless of his support for Israel, faces an uncertain situation should tensions in Gaza escalate, particularly if Israel launches a ground military operation, as its duration is unpredictable. This situation is not in Ukraine’s interest and could weaken Western support for Kyiv, given the priority shift toward Israel. The Middle East crisis may divert international attention away from the Ukraine crisis.

Divided preoccupations of the U.S.

Washington’s preoccupation on two fronts, supporting Ukraine and supporting Israel in two wars, is in Russia’s interest because it will make Ukraine’s importance decline among Western parties, militarily, politically, medially and diplomatically.

The longer these conflicts last, the more this will be in China’s interest if it wishes to move to implement a military scenario in Taiwan, as Washington will not be able to control all of these files at the same time. There is also a primary goal for Russia, which is to weaken the Western world order, a project with which its allies in China and Iran agree with.

The expansion of confrontations within the framework of the Arab-Israeli conflict tests Washington’s image as the world’s premier military power and its ability to support its two allies, Israel and Ukraine, in two separate wars at the same time.

In the short and medium term, Russia gains from the escalation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, given its immediate impact on the Ukraine front. However, looking ahead to the long term and the potential for the conflict to broaden, this might not align with Moscow’s interests, particularly if Iran becomes involved in the confrontations. Such involvement could compel Moscow to lean toward one of the parties, which is something Russia currently aims to avoid. An escalation in intensity could even result in a direct conflict between Iran and Israel, risking the stability of the Russian presence in Syria.

Russia’s failure to achieve most of its declared military goals at the beginning of its military operation in Ukraine made it resort to a strategy aimed at prolonging the war, and it began to engage in a long war of attrition inside the Ukrainian arena, against the entire Western coalition.

Both sides in Ukraine war banking on time now

At the beginning of the war, expectations were of rapid success for the Russian forces, but that did not happen.

There is no doubt that the unparalleled Western support for Ukraine, and the intelligence coordination to confront the Russian attack, enabled Kyiv to repel Russian forces in several regions of the country. Moreover, the Western weapons and sanctions raised the morale of the Ukrainians, who felt that they were not fighting the war alone.

In addition, the false intelligence information and reports that reached the Russian leadership before the war were contrary to the reality inside Ukraine.

Despite the success of Russian forces in destroying a large sector of Ukrainian infrastructure, we do not witness their efforts to overthrow the Ukrainian government at present. It is also true that Ukrainian steadfastness in the face of Russia means exhausting Moscow and incurring more military and material losses. However, Russia is engaged in an attrition strategy, aiming to erode Western support for Ukraine, relying on several key factors, the most important being the economic crisis, the escalation of a global food crisis, and the division among Europeans regarding the diplomatic resolution of the Ukrainian crisis.

Today, both parties in the conflict in the Ukrainian arena are betting on the time factor to exhaust the other party. It seems that the world is watching an ongoing war without achieving its goals in the foreseeable future, and the return of the historical conflict in the Middle East to the forefront of events is in Russia’s favor vis-a-vis its Western opponents for the reasons mentioned above.

A new world order is in its early stages of formation, whatever the outcome of the ongoing conflict between Russia and the Western alliance, the Ukraine arena today is only one of its fronts. However, the question is about the nature of the next stage: Will the new world order be born completely? Or a premature or possibly deformed newborn?

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TEL AVIV, Israel — Israeli forces fought with fighters from the militant group Hamas in central Gaza on Tuesday, as Israel’s ground campaign in the embattled territory continued into its fifth day.

According to Palestinian witnesses, Israeli troops have entered Gaza from its north and east. Israeli military officials have reported skirmishes between Hamas fighters and Israeli soldiers. An NPR producer in central Gaza reported the presence of an Israeli tank and bulldozer located south of Gaza City on Salah al-Deen, the main highway that runs north-to-south through the Gaza Strip.

All the while, Israel’s unrelenting airstrike campaign over the entirety of Gaza has continued. Airstrikes hit at least 300 targets in Gaza during the past day, Israel said Tuesday.

Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have evacuated from the northern half of Gaza, packing into any available shelter in the south. Schools, hospitals and mosques are all sheltering hundreds of people, and private homes are crowded with dozens or more. In total, 1.4 million Palestinians have been displaced from their homes, the U.N. says.

Israel continues to deny that its current operation is a “ground invasion,” referring it only as an “expanded operation” or a “new phase” in the war despite the continual presence of its troops in Gaza.

On Tuesday, Israel claimed the death of Nasim Abu Ajina, a Hamas fighter whom Israel said helped lead the Oct. 7 attacks, in which some 2,000 Hamas fighters flooded across Gaza’s border and killed 1,400 people and kidnapped hundreds of others. Abu Ajina “directed” the portion of the assault in two Israeli towns just north of Gaza, a statement from Israel’s military said.

In recent days, the number of Hamas hostages reported by Israeli officials has increased, due to what officials describe as complications with identifying foreign citizens. The total number of hostages now stands at 240, Israel says. Five have so far been freed.

More than 8,300 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since Oct. 7, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, including more than 3,400 children — a number that exceeded the total number of children killed across the world’s conflict zones each year since 2019, according to the humanitarian group Save the Children.

Israel will not agree to a cease-fire, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a press conference Monday. He compared the calls for a Israeli ceasefire to asking the U.S. to cease hostilities after 9/11 or Pearl Harbor.

At least 10 Americans are being held hostage by Hamas, officials say. And hundreds of American citizens remain trapped in Gaza.

The U.S. has representatives in Doha participating in negotiations over the release of the hostages and the safe exit of Americans from Gaza, and Secretary of State Antony Blinken has been in “close contact” with Qatari officials in the effort, according to the State Department. Hamas controls the Gaza side of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt and has blocked foreign citizens from leaving, officials say.

“There continue to be significant hurdles to doing both,” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said at a Monday press briefing. “There is no higher priority, from the President on down.”

Greg Myre contributed reporting in Tel Aviv.

Reporting by Sam Tobin; Editing by Angus MacSwan