Swedish counterintelligence chief Daniel Stenling has previously described the organizations GRU, SVR and FSB as "very involved in planning and executing the military invasion of Ukraine" The pressure comes both from within the Russian spy organizations, and from outside, in the form of revelations and investigations. Russia is forced to use more and more a type of unofficial official known to the masses mainly from series such as "The Americans": the illegalists.
An illegalist is a spy without diplomatic protection who acts under a so-called "legend", a fictional or stolen life story.