Spies hiding in plain sight

The entrance to the office of Aeroflot in Tokyo. Spies from Russia’s military intelligence agency, the GRU, have used Aeroflot jobs as cover since the Soviet era. — Chang W. Lee/The New York Times

SOON after Russian troops invaded Ukraine in Feb 2022, Western leaders expelled hundreds of Russian spies and blacklisted companies with ties to the Kremlin.

The effort was intended to make it harder for Moscow to collect intelligence and buy equipment such as microchips, transmitters and machinery used to make weapons.