GRU officer operating under diplomatic cover in Denmark revealed

While Russia is waging its war of aggression against Ukraine, it has sent a highly decorated, battle-hardened elite soldier and GRU officer to Denmark under diplomatic cover.

A joint investigation by Information and the Dutch newspaper NRC reveals the true background of Russia’s new military attaché in Copenhagen, colonel Vladimir Grekov, who was accepted as a diplomat by the Danish authorities in February this year.

Leaked information obtained through the Dossier Center shows that mr. Grekov has a background in the special forces of the Russian airborne troops (VDV) and as a manager in the headquarters of the Russian military intelligence service. Intelligence sources consulted by Information and NRC have confirmed that Vladimir Grekov is known to them as an officer of the GRU.

Grekov’s background in the spetsnaz should be a particular concern for the Danish authorities, analysts say.

»I imagine that the Danish Security and Intelligence Service is aware of what such a man is capable of doing, and what he will certainly try to do. It will probably involve operational and subversive activities, perhaps even hybrid warfare,« said Jacob Kaarsbo, a former chief analyst at the Danish Defense Intelligence Service (FE).

The exiled Russian journalist and author Andrei Soldatov, who is an expert on the Russian intelligence services, expresses himself even more dramatically.

»You have to understand that when you bring in someone with experience in special operations, it is not just about gathering intelligence. That’s when arms depots will mysteriously start to explode,« he said.

Photo credit: Jakob Marschner, Bornholms Tidende

Rebuilding the rezidentura

Vladimir Grekov arrived in Denmark less than a year after the Danish government expelled 15 employees at the Russian embassy who were identified as intelligence officers of the Russian services GRU and SVR.

Back then, the Danish foreign minister at the time, Jeppe Kofod (S), said the Danish government would not tolerate Russian spies operating in Denmark.

»With this decision, we’re sending a clear signal to Moscow that we will not accept that Russian intelligence officers conduct espionage on Danish soil. They pose a risk to our national security that we cannot ignore,« he said.

The Danish Security and Intelligence Service (PET) subsequently said that the expulsions were a hard blow to the Russian services capabilities of spying on Danish soil through physical presence.

But as Information and NRC can reveal today, the Danish authorities approved Russia’s posting of a new GRU officer at the embassy in Copenhagen less than a year later.

Formally speaking, it is the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that is responsible for the approval of foreign diplomats in Denmark after receiving an application from the diplomat’s home country containing a CV, a photo, and a copy of their passport. Information has informed the ministry about Vladimir Grekov’s background as a GRU officer and elite soldier and asked for foreign minister Lars Løkke Rasmussens (M) comment on the matter. In a written reply, his ministry emphasizes that Denmark and Russia still have diplomatic relations, and that there is therefore also a Danish defense attaché in Moscow.

»It is in Denmark’s interest that these relations are maintained in a time of turbulence,« wrote the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in what would appear to be a different tone than the former minister used in connection with the expulsions last year.

In a written response to Information, the PET declined to comment on »specific individuals«.

»But it is well known that the Russian intelligence services have a tradition of exploiting the special rules that apply to international diplomacy by sending intelligence officers to Russia's diplomatic representations under the guise of being diplomats,« the security service stated. 

The Russian journalist and intelligence expert Andrei Soldatov finds it hard to understand why the Danish authorities let Vladimir Grekov into the country. It would be »surprising« and »incompetent« if they did not know about the GRU officer’s background, he said. And if they were aware, but chose to approve mr. Grekov anyway, it is a clear misjudgment, Soldatov said.

»The classic view of ‘we spy, they spy, it’s a joint game and everything is civilized and decent’ no longer holds. We are dealing with the military intelligence service of a nation at war,« he said.

»They work, serve and act according to a completely different set of rules. It amazes me that it can take so long and be so difficult for the leadership of the security services to understand this.«

Poisonings and explosions

The GRU has repeatedly been linked to sabotage, attempted assassinations and influence operations in European countries.

Russia has denied the allegations. But the British authorities have named three GRU officers as suspects in the case of the poisoning of the Russian defector Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia with the nerve agent Novichok in 2018. Skripal and his daughter survived, but a British woman who came into contact with the poison by accident, passed away.

In Bulgaria, three Russian men alleged to be GRU officers have been charged in absentia over the poisoning of arms dealer Emilian Grebrev and two others in 2015.

And in the Czech Republic, the government announced in 2021 that GRU officers appear to have been involved in the explosions at ammunition depots in the village of Vrbetice in 2014, in which two persons were killed. The depots contained ammunition belonging to the arms dealer Emilian Grebrev's company EMCO, which has been a key supplier for the Ukrainian military for years. There are also a number of unsolved cases of fires and explosions at EMCO's warehouses in Bulgaria, the latest of which happened in June this year. 

Several pieces of information obtained by the Dossier Center, an organisation founded by the exiled Russian oligarch and Putin-critic Mikhail Khodorkovskiy, reveal the 43-year-old Vladimir Alexandrovich Grekov’s ties to the GRU. He has worked as deputy chief of the 12th directorate in the GRU headquarters in Moscow. And his personal registered address is located just across the street from the headquarters, in an apartment complex on Grizodubovoy street 4-2 that is known as a GRU ‘dormitory’.

Publicly available information confirms that this is no ordinary residential building. It was built around the same time as the GRU headquarters and was, for years, managed and maintained by the now-defunct company Slavyanka, an entity founded by the Russian ministry of defence that was tasked with managing the buildings of the Russian military.
 

Sattelite photo credit: Google/Airbus/CNES/Maxar Technologies 

The available information strongly indicates that Vladimir Grekov is operating under his true identity. A search in the official registry of Russian taxpayers confirms that his name and personal identification number are real. And searches in leaked Russian databases document a long history of activity – including a passport issued in 2002 and the registration of a Nissan Teana with a Moscow license plate on an address on the military airbase Kubinka.

Vladimir Grekov’s posting on the Russian embassy in Copenhagen is not his first. Previously, he worked in the Netherlands as an assistant military attaché, according to an archived version of the homepage of the Russian Embassy in the Hague. Publicly available photos and videos analyzed by Information confirm that this is the same person.

»The fact that he subsequently moves on – and to an attractive country like Denmark – shows that people have been satisfied with his service,« said Søren Liborius, a Danish diplomat and Russia expert who works in the EU’s External Action Service.

Intelligence sources have confirmed to Information and NRC that Vladimir Grekov was actively involved in gathering intelligence during his time in the Netherlands from 2014 to 2018.
 

Screenshot of an archived copy of the homepage of the Russian embassy in the Netherlands 
 

Spetsnaz soldier

Vladimir Grekov has a background in the Russian airborne troops (VDV), where he did his training shortly after the turn of the millennium and eventually advanced to a position as head of department at its headquarters.

Particularly remarkable is the fact that his address was previously registered at the VDV’s unit 28337, also known as the 45th Guards Spetsnaz Brigade.

This elite unit has been deployed in Georgia during the war in 2008 and in Crimea during the Russian annexation in the spring of 2014, according to an article on the website of the Russian Ministry of Defense. Its soldiers have also been deployed to Syria, where Russia supports the al-Assad regime.

In February 2022, a few hours after President Vladimir Putin announced the so-called »special military operation«, special forces from the unit launched an attack on the Hostomel airport outside of Kiev. The attack played a key role in Russia’s failed attempt to seize the Ukrainian capital in a blietzkrieg in the first days of the war.

It is not known which military operations Vladimir Grekov took part in. But the medals worn on his uniform at official events in Denmark and the Netherlands reveal that he has been involved in combat.

»A picture emerges of a man who is more James Bond than Kim Philby«, said Jakob Seerup, a Danish historian with expertise in Russian medals and uniforms who works at Bornholm’s Museum.

»He is not an analyst who sits behind a desk, he is operative and has combat experience«.
 

Russian military propaganda video 
 

Highly decorated

On photos and videos from a Russian memorial service on the Danish island of Bornholm earlier this year, Vladimir Grekov can be seen wearing 14 orders and medals on his uniform. Information has identified nine of them. At the top left is the »Order of Courage«, one of the highest-ranking Russian orders, awarded by decree of president Vladimir Putin himself for coureageous and decisive actions at the risk of one’s own life. Vladimir Grekov has received it not just once, but twice.
 

Vladimir Grekov also has two medals for »distinction in combat«. A medal awarded to soldiers who have distinguished themselves »in the performance of combat tasks or special operations in life-threatening situations«.

»So we are dealing with an experienced combat soldier who has been at the sharp end,« said Jakob Seerup, the historian.

»If we look at his military career, within the past 15-20 years, it would have to be in Georgia, Syria or on Crimea.«

Photographs from the Netherlands show that, at that time, Vladimir Grekov only wore one of the two medals for distinction in combat. This suggests that he has been involved in combat or life-threatening special operations in the period after he left the Netherlands in 2018, and before he came to Denmark in 2023. The stripes on the ribbon of the new medal reveal that it is the version that has been awarded since December 2017.
 

Vladimir Grekov’s medals also include the medal »For Courage« and the Suvorov medal.

»He is highly decorated,« said Søren Liborius, the Danish diplomat, adding:

»We must remember that medals are given for operations, and these are all awards that indicate that we are dealing with a skilled officer who has shown the way. «
 

Leopards and fighter jets

Since Russia’s attack on Ukraine in February 2022, the Danish government has distinguished itself internationally as a stong supporter of the Ukrainian defense. On several occasions, Denmark has been among a handful of countries taking the lead in supplying the Ukrainian military with new types of weapons and military equipment – with other countries subsequently following suit.

Most recently, the Danish and Dutch governments were the first in the world to announce that they will be donating their F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine. Earlier donations include Leopard tanks, armored vehicles and artillery. The Danish military is also training Ukrainian pilots and soldiers. And shortly before the summer holidays, a broad majority in the Danish Parliament decided to allocate a total of 21.9 billion DKK (roughly 3 billion Euros) for further military support to Ukraine in the coming years.

Therefore, according to Andrei Soldatov, the GRU views Danish arms depots as legitimate targets.

»They think so because, in their mind, sooner or later, these weapons will turn up in Ukraine, where they will be used against Russian soldiers. In their view, this is the main task,« he said.

»In addition to the arms depots, this officer’s primary tasks will be to find out everything about which weapons and what training Denmark can provide for the Ukrainian military.«
 

Photo credit: Pool/Zuma/Ritzau Scanpix

The »nature« of the Russian intelligence service has changed in recent years, said Andrei Soldatov.

»First of all, they now carry out sabotage and, to a lesser extent, intelligence activities. That means they pose a direct threat,« he said.

The risk is real, said Jacob Kaarsbo, the former FE chief analyst. In Denmark’s neighbouring countries, there have been indications for a long time that Russia is planning »hybrid attacks«, he said.

»This is something that requires a lot of attention,« said Jacob Kaarsbo.

Unlike Andrei Soldatov, however, he does not necessarily see the approval of Vladimir Grekov by the Danish authorities as a mistake. The GRU officer’s background is »worrying«, but that is only a part of the difficult assessment that must be made, he said.

»It has to be seen in context with the measures that can be taken from the Danish side when you are aware of him. It may well be that he can be handled, even though he seems like a tough type when you look at it from outside. I definitely think that the PET is extremely aware of Grekov’s background and that he will have to operate under difficult conditions,« said Jacob Kaarsbo.

Information has unsuccessfully tried to find out whether the PET was aware of Vladimir Grekov’s background as a GRU officer and spetsnaz soldier when he was accredited as a diplomat, and whether the security service informed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs about it.

In a written response to Information, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs simply stated that the Danish authorities carry out »thorough investigations« before accepting Russian embassy staff.

Information has tried to get an interview with Vladimir Grekov for several weeks. A request for comment from the Russian ambassador in Denmark, Vladimir Barbin, also went unanswered.