Russian intelligence services ensure the stability of the regime and are afraid of several things: democratic Ukraine, the collective West and, most of all, their own people.

This was said by former head of CIA operations in Europe and Eurasia Ralph Goff during the 17th annual Kyiv Security Forum entitled “UA: LET’S UNITE AGAIN TO DEFEAT THE WORLD’S AGGRESSOR”, organized by the Arseniy Yatsenyuk Foundation “Open Ukraine”.

“I remember the post-Soviet times. Ukraine’s intelligence services, in fact, came from the same roots as the Russian FSB – from the KGB of the Soviet Union… but these services went in two completely different directions,” he said.

Ralph Goff explained that the Russian secret services continued to focus on the internal situation in the country, on suppressing opponents of the regime.

“Russian secret services are still thinking about how to ensure the stability of the regime and prevent the opposition. Putin and other Russian leaders are afraid of several things: a free, prosperous, democratic Ukraine and the collective West, but they are more afraid of their own people, their own people,” he noted.

The former head of CIA operations emphasized that the Ukrainian special services followed a different path: “The special services have moved away from suppressing dissent… and have not become a punitive service. These services have their own agents in Russia.”

“All this shows that Ukrainian intelligence has the ability to work inside Russia,” the former head of CIA operations in Europe and Eurasia concluded.

The Kyiv Security Forum, organized by the Arseniy Yatsenyuk “Open Ukraine” foundation, is the main platform in Ukraine to discuss issues of war and peace, national and global security.