Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who has served as President of Russia since 2012, previously holding the position from 1999 until 2008. He was also the Prime Minister of Russia from 1999 to 2000 and again from 2008 to 2012.
Closeted Russian soldiers gave up state secrets on Grindr
In the lead-up to Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, intelligence agencies used every tool at their disposal to gather vital, up-to-date information.
For the British intelligence services, that tool kit apparently included catfishing Russian soldiers on social networking sites, including Grindr.A source told The Daily Mail that British spies became convinced of Putin’s imminent invasion after gaining access to messages on the site VKontakte (VK), the Russian version of Facebook.And as Russian forces gathered at the Ukraine border, spies used Grindr to chat up Russian soldiers for intel.
While Russia does not explicitly ban gay people from serving in the military, the subject is considered taboo. In 2003, Major-General of the Medical Service Valery Kuliko said gay soldiers should not reveal their sexuality because “other soldiers are not going to like that, they can be beaten.”Related: Ukrainian LGBTQ activists captured a group of Russian soldiers hiding in a basement“These sites were a treasure trove for our spies, and the dating apps in particular – soldiers and those involved in the military effort were particularly unguarded,” the source said.
