In a rare public speech, Sir Richard Moore, the head of MI6, told Russian President Vladimir Putin in no uncertain terms that he should withdraw his troops from Ukraine to avoid political chaos in Russia and potentially his own ouster. This is reported by the British newspaper Daily Mail.

Surprisingly, in his speech, Sir Richard called on Russian citizens to spy for British intelligence. An allusion to Shakespeare’s tragedy “Hamlet” could not be ignored: Putin must recognize that “something is rotten in the state of Denmark”. According to the Daily Mail, this metaphor is a reference to the failed coup attempts within Putin’s inner circle.

The comments related to an incident last month in which Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin attempted to launch a rebellion against Putin’s closest allies, Chief of Staff Valery Gerasimov and Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu. According to Sir Richard, this failed coup attempt shows the “irresistible disintegration of the unstable autocracy” and the “venality, power struggles and heartless incompetence” of the Russian leadership, as the Daily Mail further reports.

Already many defectors, according to MI6

The MI6 boss has also revealed that since the invasion, many Russians have already defected to MI6 and offered their help. There are many Russians who are appalled by the way their forces are razing Ukrainian cities, expelling innocent families and kidnapping thousands of children, according to the Daily Mail.

Despite threats from the Russian Foreign Ministry that defectors could suffer the same fate as Sergei Skripal, who was poisoned in Salisbury, Sir Richard remains optimistic that Ukraine can win the war. It is not MI6’s intention to wage culture wars but to better represent the country it serves, Sir Richard said, according to the Daily Mail.