The Department of Special Tasks is based in the headquarters of Russian military intelligence, a complex on the outskirts of Moscow known as the aquarium. Photo: Natalia Kolesnikova/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images
Updated Feb. 15, 2025 12:01 am ET
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Russia’s spy services have a shadowy new unit taking aim at the West with covert attacks across Europe and elsewhere, Western intelligence officials say.
Known as the Department of Special Tasks, it is based in the Russian military-intelligence headquarters, a sprawling glass-and-steel complex on the outskirts of Moscow known as the aquarium. Its operations, which haven’t been previously reported, have included attempted killings, sabotage and a plot to put incendiary devices on planes.
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