CIA releases new video clip urging Russians to collaborate with the intelligence agency

The CIA posted a video to social media called “Why I got involved with the CIA: For the homeland,” urging Russians to cooperate with the intelligence agency.

The video features the inner monologue of a 35-year-old employee of Russia’s Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU), who previously served in Russia’s Airborne Forces.

“I found a new way to serve my country in the GRU. At least that’s what I thought. Soon, however, I found out that Russia’s true enemy is within itself. The higher ups sold the country for palaces and yachts, while our soldiers chew on rotten potatoes and shoot from archaic weapons. Our people are forced to pay bribes just to find a job. And the elite pass the time with fabulously expensive watches, while corruption and cronyism corrodes my country from within,” the video’s narrator says.

The clip ends with an appeal from the CIA: “The people around you may not want to hear the truth. We do. You’re not powerless.” The U.S. intelligence agency then urges Russians to securely contact them.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov commented on the clip, noting that countries’ intelligence agencies often take to social media to recruit employees. “Someone needs to tell the CIA that VKontakte is much more popular in our country than the banned X. The audience on VKontakte is much larger,” he said.