Russia's spies, in retaliation against the CIA, urge Americans to get in touch

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia's foreign intelligence service released an English-language video on Thursday, urging "true American patriots" who care about world peace to get in touch via secure communication in response to efforts by the CIA to recruit Russians.

The U.S.'s Central Intelligence Agency has said the war in Ukraine is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to recruit agents in Russia. It released a video in 2023 targeting Russian officials with an appeal to tell the truth about a system it said is riddled with lying sycophants.

Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), the main successor organisation to the Soviet-era KGB's First Main Directorate, ridiculed the CIA's "clumsy attempts" to recruit Russians with the videos.

The SVR video, released on its website and also appearing on the Telegram messaging app, references the joint Soviet-U.S. efforts to defeat Nazi Germany in World War Two and then underscores the dangers of the Ukraine war.

"We are convinced that the destructive efforts of the Central Intelligence Agency are futile, and the Russian and American peoples have not forgotten the glorious pages of the history of the joint struggle against Nazism," it said.

"In our video message, we not only remind you of the past, but also offer options aimed at the future."

The video, part parody of the CIA's videos and part emotional images of a ranch and Soviet and U.S. troops embracing during World War Two, then switches to harsher pictures of the war in Ukraine, where the United States and other Western nations have backed Kyiv with military and financial help.

It ends with an address that interested U.S. citizens can use to communicate with the SVR over the TOR network which allows anonymous communications.

The release of the SVR video coincides with speculation about a new push by U.S. President Donald Trump to end the Ukraine war. A senior Russian lawmaker was quoted as saying on Thursday that preparations for a meeting between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin are at an "advanced stage".

The SVR and its predecessors have run some of the most damaging agents in U.S. history, including Julius Rosenberg, who helped the Soviets obtain nuclear secrets, and the moles Robert Hanssen and Aldrich Ames who betrayed thousands of U.S. secrets.

(Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge; Editing by Gareth Jones)