Shortly after Russian forces invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Western nations expelled hundreds of Russian spies from their capitals and blacklisted companies linked to the Kremlin. The coordinated campaign aimed to make it harder for Moscow to gather intelligence and acquire vital equipment and technologies, such as microchips, transmitters, and machinery used in weapons manufacturing.

But Western officials say dozens of those agents expelled from Western countries later resurfaced in an unexpected place: Japan.

Japan's weak counterintelligence laws, coupled with its booming advanced technology sector, have made the country a key part of Russia's efforts to maintain its military capability. According to Ukrainian government estimates, about 90 percent of Russian missiles and drones contain Japanese components.

At the heart of these operations in Tokyo is a secret Russian military intelligence unit called the 'Twentieth Directorate,' whose role has not been publicly disclosed before. Current and former officials from five Western intelligence agencies say members of this unit operate under the cover of diplomats or businessmen, seeking to buy or steal military technologies used on the battlefield and smuggle them to Russia.

Overseeing the unit's operations in Tokyo is a man who maintains a false identity as an employee of the Russian state airline Aeroflot, according to current officials from four Western intelligence agencies. The officials say he plays a pivotal role in supplying Russia's war machine with necessary equipment.

The results of these efforts are evident in the nighttime attacks on Ukrainian cities and the protracted battles on the front lines. Four years into a war that has killed hundreds of thousands and destroyed entire cities, officials say Russia's continued ability to fight is partly due to its acquisition of advanced technologies, including those reaching it from Japan.

Spies from the Russian military intelligence agency (GRU) have used jobs at Aeroflot as cover for their activities since the Soviet era.

After a Russian Kh-101 missile destroyed a residential building in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, killing at least 24 people in May, investigators examined the missile's wreckage. According to a Ukrainian assessment, they found the missile relied on Japanese components that are widely banned from export to Russia.

Based on classified government documents, corporate records, and interviews with dozens of intelligence and government officials across three continents, The New York Times has begun to reveal how the 'Twentieth Directorate' operates and the critical role Moscow's intelligence station in Tokyo plays in supporting President Vladimir Putin's war on Ukraine.

Most officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to release intelligence information publicly.

According to the documents and interviews, Ukrainian officials provided Japan with evidence of its technologies being used in Russian attacks. Yet the Japanese government, despite declaring strong support for Ukraine, has been slow to address the problem.

Japan has long been known as a favorable environment for spies, partly due to restrictions imposed after World War II by the victorious nations, which kept Japanese intelligence agencies limited and weak. In fact, Japan lacks a dedicated foreign intelligence service.

Japanese officials say they are aware of the scale of the espionage threat and are working to remove old restrictions that hinder intelligence gathering.

Akihisa Shiozaki, a lawmaker from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and a former lawyer who handled industrial espionage cases, said: 'We have a sense of crisis about this situation.'

The Japanese Foreign Ministry did not respond to detailed questions about the espionage operations but said the government has cooperated with Western allies to ban the export of military-related materials to Russia.

A written statement from the ministry said: 'Russia's aggression against Ukraine is an outrageous act that shakes the very foundations of the international order.'

Nevertheless, the data suggests that Russian spies may be operating right under the noses of Japanese authorities.

Aeroflot's office in Tokyo is a ten-minute walk from the headquarters of the National Police Agency, which is responsible for investigating espionage cases.

Western intelligence officials say the man in charge of the unit's operations in Tokyo runs his covert activities from the 22nd floor of the company's office.

A Spy Arrives in Tokyo

His name: Maxim Vladimirovich Vilchenkov.

Russia was in dire need of advanced technology components when Maxim Vilchenkov, 49, took up his post in Tokyo in February 2024.

The nature of the war in Ukraine had begun to shift from artillery confrontations reminiscent of 20th-century wars to a conflict heavily reliant on drones and modern technology, at a time when the Ukrainians were making technological advances.

To continue fighting, Moscow needed to bolster its conventional military capabilities with new technologies. China could provide some help, but for Russia's most sophisticated weapons, there was no substitute for advanced electronic equipment, precision industrial machinery, and other components that many companies were suddenly banned from selling to Russia after sanctions were imposed.

This is where Vilchenkov, a veteran officer of the GRU, comes in. According to intelligence officials, his previous experience during an earlier assignment in Japan gave him the knowledge needed to find the required equipment and transport it to Russia.

According to business records and interviews, Vilchenkov began cultivating relationships with logistics companies that ship goods from Japan to Russia.

Western entities have warned Japan that such relationships could help GRU officers purchase sensitive technologies under false pretenses and then send them to Russia, sometimes using forged shipping documents.

Current and former intelligence officials say this is precisely the area where the 'Twentieth Directorate' excels.

Although the unit's history remains unclear, officials confirm it existed before the outbreak of war in Ukraine. Since the start of the war, it has become a key part of the Kremlin's efforts to acquire prohibited military technology.

Moreover, GRU agents have used jobs at Aeroflot as cover since the Soviet era, while seeking Western technology.

The office of Proco Air, an official partner of the Russian state airline Aeroflot, is located on the sixth floor of this building in Tokyo, and the company describes itself as a bridge connecting Japan and Russia.

Aeroflot's Tokyo Office

The entrance to Aeroflot's Tokyo office looks like a prison door; a narrow window barely allowing visibility, next to a doorbell.