NYT: State Dept. Hires Firm With KGB Ties to Guard Moscow Embassy

The State Department hired a Russian security company, founded by a former KGB agent, to guard its embassy in Moscow as well as three other consulates in Russia, The New York Times reported.

The $2.8 million contract with Elite Security Holdings is the result of Russian president Vladimir Putin ordering the U.S. to cuts 755 of its diplomats in July, retaliation for Congress levying new sanctions on Russia for election meddling.

The founder of Elite Security Holdings is Viktor Budanov, Putin's former KGB boss and head of counterintelligence, the Times reports.

Elite's guards will take over duties like screening visitors at the embassy but won't have access to secure areas, the Times reports.

Putin's order for the U.S. to reduce staff created a "compelling urgency" for the U.S., forcing them to hire a Russian company founded by ex-KGB, the Times reported.

"This is very good for us," Mikhail Lyubimov, a former KGB spy, told the Times, adding that Russia would never hire a company with ties to the CIA to guard its embassy in the states, the Times reported.

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