Russian agent posing as Brazilian scientist detained in Norway

On October 28, a court in Norway accused of espionage an employee of the Arctic University of Tromsoe, Brazilian José Assis Giammaria, who turned out to be the Main Directorate of Intelligence agent Mikhail Mikushin. 

Mikushin was born in Jekaterinbur. At 26, he moved to Moscow, where he lived in an officer's dormitory at the Main Directorate of Intelligence Military Diplomatic Academy. In 2006, he received a Brazilian passport because he allegedly had a Brazilian mother.

Mikushin was engaged in "research" work in Canada and, in 2019, published an article proving the need for new military bases in the Arctic. In 2021, Mikushin arrived in Norway as part of a research program at the University of Tromsoe, which included the study of "hybrid threats". Finally, in 2022, he participated in an EU-supported training in Vilnius on "hybrid warfare". One of the training topics was "how to respond in case of sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipeline".

Photo: CBC