Russia responds to CIA recruitment video for spies with a bizarre video of its own, report says

• A Russian video apparently seeking to recruit US spies is circulating on Telegram.
• It shows US satanists, and President Joe Biden being targeted.

A video circulating on pro-Kremlin social media channels seeks to persuade Americans to spy for Russia, and comes after the release of a video by the CIA seeking to recruit Russians to spy on their country.

The video, distributed on a channel on the Telegram app called 'Siloviki,' was first reported by The Daily Beast.

The Russian video seems to show members of the US military and contains a clip from "Jarhead," a 2005 film about a disillusioned US Marine.

"Is this the life I dreamed of? The path that I have chosen for myself," says a narrator on the video. "Why are the lives of some more valuable than the lives of others? And who decides?"

It goes on to show anti-racism protesters and members of the Church of Satan, and seeks to portray the US as engulfed in turmoil.

It concludes with a clip of Joe Biden with crosshairs overlaid on his head.

"This is my America, this will always be my America. We will stand. We will live with dignity because of my actions," the video states. "I will raise the flags of our fathers again."

It then says "write to us," and apparently includes secure ways to get in touch with the SVR, Russia's main foreign intelligence agency.

It's unclear if the video was, in fact, produced by the SVR.

Analysts have previously told Insider that Russian propaganda has targeted US conservative and conspiracy theorists, and has sought to portray Russia as a bastion of Christianity and conservative values.

The video seems to fall into that pattern, and one account that shared the clip appealed to US conservatives to contact the SVR.

"Russia, from the point of view of true American patriots and conservatives, in this context becomes the last stronghold of the white Christian civilization," the account wrote.

The CIA's video, which was distributed on Telegram and other social media channels, contains moody footage of Russians apparently considering the future of their country, and concludes with a Russian contacting the agency through a dark web channel.

It's apparently aimed at Russian government officials who oppose the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

"People around you may not want to hear the truth," its narrator says. "But we do. You are not powerless. Connect with us in a safe way."

The Kremlin responded to the CIA's video with anger.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said Tuesday, reported TASS, that "such malicious activity, including the distribution of inflammatory materials, will not remain without a proper effective response."

The US seems keen to recruit Russians opposed to the Kremlin's invasion of Ukraine, which has stalled amid steep casualties for the Russian military.

Thousands of Russians opposed to the invasion have fled the country, and according to a report this week by Russian independent outlet iStories Kremlin, officials opposed to the war have been banned from resigning amid fears it would through the government into chaos.

The Russian government has imprisoned thousands of dissidents in the wake of the invasion, and passed sweeping laws designed making criticism of the war illegal.