How Israel and Ukraine Are Revolutionizing Modern Intelligence Operations with Local Agents and Technology

Israel and Ukraine have developed sophisticated networks of dedicated operatives for covert operations.

According to a report in The Wall Street Journal, both Israel and Ukraine are utilizing local agents and advanced technological devices to execute clandestine attacks against strategic targets within Iran and Russia.

In June, Israel conducted a 12-day military campaign against Iran that relied on ordinary citizens who had been trained to operate complex automated and remotely controlled equipment. Mossad invested years in identifying potential assets within Iran, including individuals who had suffered from repression, members of marginalized ethnic minorities, and foreign residents who could safely assist in covert operations.

On June 13, these recruited agents deployed rockets, drones, and various smuggled weaponry to destroy Iranian air-defense systems and missile launchers, according to statements from Israeli officials and sources knowledgeable about the operation.

Ukraine has implemented a comparable strategy against Russia. Citizens such as Artem Tymofeyev, a professional DJ, and his wife Kateryna, a tattoo artist, secretly organized "Operation Spiderweb" from a warehouse located near a Russian state security office. The couple, while maintaining their regular roles in society, utilized technology provided by Kyiv to execute attacks against Russian targets.

Throughout the past year, Israel and Ukraine have merged traditional human intelligence capabilities with cutting-edge technology, enabling even minimally trained local operatives to perform sophisticated tasks while maintaining their cover.

"The lone 007 operator is not what we're looking for now," explained Eran Lerman, a former official in Israel's National Security Council, according to The WSJ. "Now, people are at the tip of a very complex operation."

Contemporary surveillance technologies have significantly increased the risks associated with traditional espionage methods. Electronic tracking systems, biometric profiling, and omnipresent digital footprints, sometimes referred to as "digital dust," have exposed professional operatives in previous failed operations. Mossad's operations in Dubai in 2010 and earlier incidents demonstrated the vulnerabilities of depending exclusively on career agents operating abroad.

Israel now focuses on training local agents for specific missions. In 2020, a remote-controlled machine gun was employed to assassinate Iranian nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, with local operatives positioned safely away from the scene. During the June operations, local agents assisted in destroying Iranian air defenses and identifying critical targets.

"What you have is a sort of extension arm, which gives you the best of both worlds," stated Eyal Tsir Cohen, a former senior Israeli intelligence official.

Ukraine has applied these methodologies with remarkable effectiveness. Its operatives have conducted assassinations and drone strikes while blending into Russian society, utilizing crowd-sourced intelligence and AI-generated tools to locate and target military personnel.

Unlike Russian local agents, who frequently operate unknowingly in exchange for payment, Israel and Ukraine develop networks of committed operatives. For example, the Tymofeyevs lived openly in Chelyabinsk while preparing attacks that would be executed thousands of miles away, departing Russia safely before the strikes were carried out.