The Australian Defence Force promoted accused Russian spy Kira Korolev as a model soldier in two recruitment videos it erased before intelligence agencies arrested her.
The Nightly has obtained two private Australian Army videos in which the alleged spy speaks of guarding Australian defence networks from attack, working with allied nations, and serving the country she “loves”.
“On a day-to-day basis, I’m administering the system, making sure that the network works well and we don’t have any security breaches”, she said in the September 2021 video.
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The Russia-born Australian army private and her husband Igor face up to fifteen years imprisonment after Australia’s counter foreign interference taskforce arrested and charged them with preparing for an espionage offence.
“I can meet new people and I can make friends for life. I like to serve the nation, which I love,” Mrs Korolev declares.
The pair are accused of obtaining Australian Defence Force material to share with Russian authorities.
“We also install and configure software and hardware and educating the users how to use the system. When we outfield, we’re always on the move. We have to be fast and we have to know our job very well to make sure the network works perfectly,” Mrs Korolev explains in the video.
“We learn different weapons systems. We work with coalition forces. We have a lot of opportunities to travel overseas and interstates.”
The Australian Federal Police alleges that Mrs Korolev undertook undeclared travel to Russia without her husband while on long-term leave from the ADF since 2023.
“The AFP will allege that while the man remained in Australia, the woman instructed him on how to log into her official work account, and guided him to access specific information to send directly to her private email account while she was in Russia,” the AFP and Australian Security Intelligence Organisation said in a joint statement on Friday.
The Nightly understands from an Australian Defence Force source that Mrs Korolev had a Negative Vetting 1 security clearance, granting her ongoing access to secret resources and temporary access to top secret resources in certain circumstances.
“I’m Kira and I’m an Information Systems Technician in the Australian Army. I was 33 years old when I joined the Army. I was growing up living in Moscow, Russia,” the now-40-year-old ADF Army Private said in the video.
“A lot of people think that it’s a help desk job where you’re sitting in the office and helping the users on a network. However, it’s more challenging and exciting.”
“Without the Information Systems Technician, the command wouldn’t be able to communicate effectively while they outfield. I chose IT in the Army because it brings more opportunities and challenges and excitement. We do a lot of stuff besides just being IT professionals.”