Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has further strengthened great power rivalry and turned Switzerland into a hub for Russian and Chinese espionage, according to the Swiss Federal Intelligence Service, SRC.
“Russia has destroyed the rules-based order for peace in Europe,” the SRC, which is also in charge of counter-espionage, noted in its annual report, published on Monday.
“The effectiveness of international forums for maintaining peace and security, such as the UN or the OSCE, has continued to decline,” the SRC added. “There are no signs of a new stable world order.”
Foreign espionage activities, mainly Russian and Chinese, still pose a high threat to Switzerland, it said.
Due, among other things, to its role as a state hosting many international organisations, Switzerland is one of the European countries in which the largest number of Russian intelligence services members are deployed under diplomatic cover, the SRC added.
An abundance of spies from the cold explains why it is indeed Russia’s war against Ukraine that is currently the focal point in Switzerland’s political and security environment, according to the Swiss secret services, which have just 450 employees.
The United Nations' European headquarters are in Geneva, as are the headquarters of a great many UN agencies. Switzerland’s mandate on the UN Security Council – since January 2023 and for the first time in its history – accentuates the threat posed by espionage to the Swiss who work on Security Council dossiers, according to the SRC.
By the force of circumstance, they become targets for spies, it explained.
