Sergei Cherkasov, a Russian spy who set up in Brazil, then operated in the United States and moved to The Hague, where he was caught after trying to infiltrate the International Criminal Court, sent information to his superiors in Moscow that turned out to be false.

Among other things, he announced before Vladimir Putin launched the invasion that the United States would not intervene in or help Ukraine, information that may have contributed to the Kremlin’s decision to attack the neighboring country.

What false information did Cherkasov send to Moscow

Excerpts from Serhiy Cherkasov’s reports (full of spelling mistakes and obscene words) during his time in the USA were published by the US Department of Justice, which recently charged him:

• “This is very important shit! (Name redacted) said that Lloyd Austin, prior to his meeting with (Ukrainian Defense Minister) Reznikov, received clear instructions from the Biden administration (I don’t know from whom exactly) according to (name redacted) “not to give any imaginary signals to the administration of the United States on the possibility of military participation by the United States.”
• That is: the administration is definitely not able to help Ukrainians if the war starts. No matter what the media says or any political promises, they will not be fulfilled by mere words.
• The administration does not want this conflict because there is no point in it.
• There are no signs that the US will offer Ukraine anything other than political support in the event of war.”

“Brazilian” Cherkasov, a Russian intelligence officer

37-year-old Serhiy Cherkasov “worked as an illegal agent of the Russian special services under the Brazilian pseudonym Victor Mueller Ferreira,” according to the statement of the federal prosecutor in Washington.

According to the indictment, he began operating under this identity in Brazil in 2010 and created a “legend” with a fictitious aunt, a dead mother and several friends.

Five years later, he applied to the University of Washington under that name. After enrolling at this institution, he entered the United States in 2018 on a student visa.

Until 2020, he lived under this cover, studying international relations while gathering “information about Americans that he passed on to Russian services,” according to prosecutor Matthew Graves.

After leaving the US in May 2020, he continued to use his academic contacts to obtain information about US foreign policy, they added.

In April 2022, Cherkasov sought to join the International Criminal Court (ICC), which is based in The Hague, Netherlands, as an intern investigating Ukraine’s allegations of war crimes against Russia.

The Dutch special services discovered him and refused him entry to the Netherlands. He was sent back to Brazil, where he was arrested for fraud and sentenced in July to 15 years in prison.

According to court documents, Moscow requested his extradition, accusing him of drug trafficking in 2011 and 2013.