A woman accused of trying to share Australian information with Russian officials has appeared in an Australian Defence Force advertisement.
Russian-born Australians Kira Korolev, 40, and her husband Igor, 62, were arrested in Brisbane on Thursday over an alleged spying plot targeting defence forces.
Kira, who was an ADF IT specialist, is believed to have been on a secret trip to Russia when she asked her husband to access and send documents to her.
He appears to have appeared in ADF recruitment material saying: “I was able to join without any prior experience because the army provided me with full training.”
Previous posts on her social media revealed she was “very interested in joining” the defence force but was “unsure of what exact role she might take on”.
Police will investigate whether he joined the ADF with the intention of spying.
The couple has lived in Australia for over a decade. Kira was granted citizenship in 2016 and Igor in 2020.
They are the first to be charged with espionage in Australia, sparking a verbal spat between the Russian Embassy in Canberra and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
Kira Korolev (pictured), a 40-year-old Russian-born Australian accused of spying, has appeared in material required for her employer, the defence force, it has emerged.
Court documents obtained by the Courier Mail revealed police will allege the pair were operating as Russian spies from December 2022.
Now-deleted footage from Kira’s YouTube channel, Another Australia, shows her travelling to major Australian cities with military bases.
In a video, he said there were “no machine guns” and “no army” along the Dingo Fence, which stretches more than 5,600km from Queensland to South Australia.
Visiting a section of the fence near Cooper Pedy in South Australia, Kira detailed how frequently rangers patrolled the area.
“We cannot say for sure that there is not some kind of secret military or alien base behind the fence, as we have not walked every meter of it,” he told his followers.
Another video shows her at a war memorial in Darwin talking about the city as home to the country’s largest military base and its numerous tunnels used in World War II.
Mr Albanese said he remained confident in the selection processes of Australia’s national security agencies.
“The threats against us are mild,” he said.
‘They are constantly trying to find ways to compromise and harm our national interest.
“And that’s why our agencies make sure to constantly monitor their performance.”
Kira worked for the ADF as an IT expert before she allegedly asked her husband Igor, 62, to share documents with her while he was on a secret trip to Russia.
The couple are the first Australians to be charged with espionage after arriving in Australia more than a decade ago and gaining citizenship (pictured, Igor being arrested)
The Russian Embassy on Saturday accused the heads of Australia’s federal police and spy agency of stoking anti-Russian paranoia.
“The press conference by the heads of the AFP and ASIO on 12 July was clearly aimed at launching another wave of anti-Russian paranoia in Australia,” the embassy said in a statement.
‘Theatrical tricks were used, such as talking to imaginary “Russian spies” who were supposed to be everywhere.’
But the Prime Minister said Russia had no credibility and was conducting espionage all over the world.
“Russia may get the message: stand down,” Albanese said Saturday.
‘How about they leave Ukraine and stop the illegal and immoral war they are involved in and try to stop interfering in the internal affairs of other sovereign nations?
“(Russia) is a country that does not respect international law and they should be treated with contempt, which is how I feel about them.”
AFP Commissioner Reece Kershaw said police will argue that the information they sought to access related to the country’s national security interests.
But the Russian Embassy in Australia said the couple’s detention was “another wave of anti-Russian paranoia.”