Юрий Швец. Все! Никакие сделки Трампа с Путиным по Украине уже невозможны! Инсайд из Вашингтона!

Summary

In an interview with Dmitry Gordon, former KGB officer Yuri Shvets discussed Soviet intelligence, Vladimir Putin’s career, the poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko, and US–Russia relations. Many of the most serious claims are Shvets’s allegations and opinions, rather than independently established facts in the interview.

Putin and the KGB

Shvets said he did not remember Putin from their time at the Andropov Institute, but recalled that others described him with the nickname “Okurok” (“cigarette butt”). Shvets claimed Putin was judged unsuitable for intelligence work and did not serve as a foreign intelligence officer in East Germany, where he characterized Putin’s role as largely ceremonial. He portrayed Putin’s rise as a product of the Soviet bureaucratic system rather than exceptional ability.

Soviet intelligence and recruitment

Shvets argued that the KGB’s power is often exaggerated. He said effective agent recruitment was difficult and depended heavily on individual officers. During his years in the United States, he claimed to have personally recruited an American source. He also described General Oleg Kalugin as an officer who had successfully recruited a source, and said Soviet intelligence recruited extensively within the USSR and among foreign nationals.

Litvinenko and a business investigation

Shvets said Alexander Litvinenko asked him to investigate the business connections of Putin aide Viktor Ivanov. Shvets alleged that his research linked Putin, Ivanov, and figures associated with the Tambov criminal group to a company called SPAG and to money laundering connected with the Cali drug cartel. He said the resulting report caused a prospective billion-dollar deal to be abandoned.

Shvets further recounted that Andrei Lugovoi took a copy of his report to Moscow and returned to London shortly before Litvinenko was poisoned with polonium. He presented this as part of the background to Litvinenko’s killing; the interview does not independently verify the allegations.

Political figures and KGB connections

Shvets asserted that former Ukrainian leaders Viktor Yanukovych and Mykola Azarov had been recruited by the KGB. He also described Soviet recruitment practices involving political and academic figures.

Asked whether Yevgeny Primakov had compromised the Soviet residency in the United States, Shvets declined to answer directly but suggested that a major betrayal at the top of the system might eventually be revealed.

Ukraine, Crimea, and Donbas

Shvets argued that Putin’s seizure of Crimea was driven more by emotion and resentment over Ukraine’s political upheaval than by a carefully conceived strategic plan. On Donbas, he called the region deeply damaged and said it might need to be “frozen” for a time. More broadly, he predicted that Russia’s growing weakness could create an opportunity for Ukraine to regain both Donbas and Crimea.

Trump and Russian interference

Shvets described Donald Trump as psychologically similar to Putin and said he considered Trump unfit for the presidency. He argued that Russian interference in the US election was poorly concealed and ultimately backfired by making Putin a pariah in the West.

Shvets said a Trump–Putin agreement, including one concerning Ukraine, was now practically impossible because negotiating with Putin had become politically unacceptable in the United States.

US investigations and influence

Shvets claimed that US citizens had conspired with Russian intelligence in an effort to seize power and undermine American institutions, and referred to multiple congressional and intelligence investigations. He said he did not believe Russian money had bought US politicians from older political generations, but alleged that Russian interests had cultivated lobbying groups and individual propagandists.

Other topics

Shvets recalled a KGB episode in which Henry Kissinger was considered for formal inclusion as an agent, but said the paperwork was stopped before it was completed. He also discussed his involvement in the US case against former Ukrainian prime minister Pavlo Lazarenko, criticizing Lazarenko’s performance in court.

Presenters and contributors

• Dmitry Gordon: Presenter and interviewer
• Yuri Shvets: Guest