With diplomatic passports in hand, Russian intelligence officers can continue their activities year after year.

But behind the diplomatic veneer lies the reality of war.

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".

All are active in Stockholm. Their bosses in Moscow are the ones pulling the strings of the measures that they hope will break the will of the Ukrainian people to defend themselves: terrorist bombings and torture centers.

Pressure from both inside and outside

The same people decide on the direction and intelligence goals of the Stockholm-based intelligence officers.

But at the same time, the war has put pressure on Russian intelligence. The pressure comes both from within the Russian spy organizations, and from outside, in the form of revelations and investigations.

One consequence of this turbulence is that 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, which usually takes a long time to build.

Stockholm a front in the war

But there is no time when the Russian state is crying out for more information. This has led to Western counterintelligence now assessing that Russia has had to rely on "budget illegalists", people who are ill-prepared and have flawed "legends".

People with insight into Swedish counterintelligence say that the past year has been very hectic for SAPO personnel as Russian espionage against Swedish military capabilities, Swedish support to Ukraine and political choices have increased.

At the same time, it is not only Swedish conditions that are the target of the Russian spies in Stockholm. According to Säpo, Sweden has also become a base for Russia's espionage targeting other states.

In this way, Stockholm becomes another front in the invasion war against Ukraine.