Trump’s return raises questions over future of CIA’s Russian recruitment drive

Intelligence agency has been trying to entice Russians disaffected by invasion of Ukraine but president-elect is likely to want to make an ally of Kremlin

For the past three years, the CIA has run an unusually bold outreach programme. It targeted Russians within the country's government and security services, attempting to turn them into double agents.

Slickly produced recruitment videos portrayed cooperation with the US secret agency as the patriotic choice for officials disaffected with Vladimir Putin's regime and the war in Ukraine. The videos ended with instructions on how to contact the CIA in a secure manner.