3GIMBALS

The Hybrid Architecture of Russian Intelligence in the Western Balkans

From cover operatives and arms smuggling to energy control and humanitarian cover, Moscow has embedded access across the Balkans for its intelligence operatives.

Russian intelligence is sustained through diplomatic cover, commercial fronts, political patronage, and nationalist enablers in the Balkans. From fuel depots and training centers to sanctioned elites and cultural outreach, Moscow has built a hybrid infrastructure designed to persist below the threshold of confrontation.