The French Château de Mousquet, a Russian diplomatic residence located 50 kilometers from Paris in the commune of Limaye, is called a “Russian spy nest” by local residents.
This is stated in an investigation by Europe 1 radio station.
The Château de Mousset, acquired by the USSR Embassy in 1945, was a vacation spot for Soviet and later Russian diplomats and embassy staff. With the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the building was empty.
“Today, the shutters of the residence are closed, there is no doorbell or intercom on the gate, and a large communication antenna is visible on the roof,” the investigation says.
According to one of the local residents, from time to time, members of the Russian diplomatic corps visit the castle.
“We see the cars of the diplomatic corps arrive from time to time on weekends. Here, green license plates, one or two of them come by from time to time. Before the war against Ukraine started, there were many more,” he said.
Another source added that the castle is “a big satellite dish. Everyone wonders what they are doing with it, but it has been there for a long time.”
“Perhaps they are communicating directly with Russia,” the man suggested.
On April 18, the Dossier Center published an investigation that revealed that Russian intelligence services installed numerous radio intelligence systems on the roofs of embassies in Europe to serve Russian diplomats expelled from these countries.
The largest number of such antennas was installed on the building of the Russian Embassy in Brussels – 17. There are more than 10 on the roofs of Russian embassies in Madrid, Belgrade, Lisbon, Sofia, and Nicosia. In total, there are at least 182 antennas on 39 buildings of Russian embassies and consulates in Europe.
Since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, EU countries have expelled hundreds of Russian diplomats.
On April 15, the Norwegian government decided to expel 15 Russian intelligence officers who had been working under diplomatic cover at the Russian embassy.