Russia Policy Monitor No. 2685 | American Foreign Policy Council

PUTIN'S PRIVATE MUSCLE
The government of Russian President Vladimir Putin has a new, sympathetic domestic political ally of note: the Russkaya Obshchina ("Russian Community"). The far-right group has been around for a number of years now, but it has garnered growing attention of late for its propensity for violent attacks, as well as its collaboration with both regional police forces and the FSB. Indeed, Russkaya Obshchina members are known to have participated in raids alongside police in Moscow and Yekaterinburg, and on June 11th, traffic police in the Sverdlovsk region announced that volunteers from the group would be joining them on raids. Even in regions where officials have stopped short of openly cooperating with the group, the heads of law enforcement agencies and local governors (such as Leningrad region's Alexander Drozhdenko) have encouraged the group to act independently.

The growing embrace of the Russkaya Obschina may have a natural explanation. Meduza, citing a source close to the Kremlin, reports that the group was created and is overseen by the FSB, and represents a "project of the bureau." It is used as a tool of pressure against political opponents or wayward migrants in various regions, when "interethnic conflicts" arise. (Meduza, June 24, 2025)

PYONGYANG SENDS REINFORCEMENTS
According to a new Ukrainian intelligence assessment, North Korea is planning to triple the number of troops it is supplying to Russia to further its fight against Ukraine. Officials in Kyiv say the DPRK will send an additional 25,000 to 30,000 soldiers to augment the Russian military, on top of the 11,000 dispatched last Fall to assist the Kremlin in repelling Ukraine's incursion into its Kursk region. The new North Korean forces, unlike the last tranche provided by Pyongyang, are expected to operate within Ukraine itself "to strengthen the Russian contingent, including during the large-scale offensive operations," the intelligence assessment lays out. The new deployment is part of a larger pattern of deepening North Korean involvement in the Ukraine war in support of Moscow, experts say. (CNN, July 2, 2025)

THE GRU IS HACKING ALLIES OF UKRAINE
A new report jointly issued by Poland's Military Counterintelligence Service (SKW) and Internal Security Agency (ABW) describes how Russia's military intelligence has targeted Poland's infrastructure at logistics points and border crossings for the surveillance of military support for Ukraine. The study, which is "authored or endorsed" by a wide variety of Western cybersecurity and intelligence agencies, from the NSA and FBI to Germany's Federal Intelligence Service and Federal Office for Information Security, exposes the espionage orchestrated by the GRU's unit 26165, or "Fancy Bear." The campaign exploited security flaws in both commercial and government systems, breaching thousands of private and public IP cameras in at least 13 countries and disrupting operations across sea, air, and rail transport, logistics centers, border crossings, and air traffic control systems. The intent, the study says, was to "gain operational knowledge that can be used against Ukraine and its partners."

The report is intended "to warn potential victims and provide them with recommendations to help strengthen their protection against threats." It urges public and private organizations to operate under the assumption that they are targets of GRU activity and to implement zero-trust security models across their networks. (Euromaidan, June 30, 2025)

TRACKING FOREIGNERS IN RUSSIA
As of July 1st, foreigners who are not registered with the country's Unified Biometric Database will have their phone service disconnected, Russia's Digital Development Ministry has announced. Phone numbers belonging to foreigners that have been inactive for three months will likewise be deactivated immediately, while active phone numbers will first be blocked from making international and long-distance calls and face a reduction in internet speeds. After 30 days, service will be shut off entirely. Foreigners have been required to provide biometric data to register new phone numbers since January, and are now limited to purchasing 10 sim cards. (Meduza, July 1, 2025)

NO LOVE FOR NEW HAVEN
The Russian government has added Yale University to its list of "undesirable organizations." In making the determination, the Prosecutor General's Office cites the training of "opposition leaders of foreign states" by the university's School of International Affairs. "Among the Russian graduates of the program are the leaders and activists of the extremist organization, the Anti-Corruption Foundation, who used the knowledge and technologies they received at the school to escalate protest activity in the Russian Federation," it states.

The Prosecutor General's Office has claimed that Yale's activities undermine Russia's territorial integrity, support economic sanctions against the state, and seek to destabilize Russia's political sphere. It additionally alleges that the university is helping craft legal arguments to justify the confiscation of Russian assets in Western countries to support Ukraine's armed forces. (Meduza, July 8, 2025)