I know we are very limited on time. I will just say I would be happy to submit a note to the clerk with any additional details regarding many of the issues.
The Russian presence in the western Balkans since 2014—since the first invasion of Ukraine—has grown by leaps and bounds. Russia has a very sophisticated intelligence footprint on the ground. Just yesterday, we had the news out of Montenegro that the Montenegrin authorities turned back several dozen Serbian nationals who are thought to be directly linked to both Serbian intelligence and Russian intelligence, and they were dispatched on what was basically a disruption mission for a summit.
We know Serbian nationals have been trained by Russian intelligence. We know Russian nationals have been trained in Serbia. We have very close ties between the secessionist authorities in Bosnia and in Russia. Mr. Dodik, as I said, is actually in St. Petersburg now, as we speak, for the third time in less than a month and a half. They have influence in Serbia. They have influence in Montenegro. They have influence in North Macedonia. It's a very sophisticated political and intelligence operation on the ground.
The reason they do this—this is where I'll end—is that they maintain that the western Balkans are a potential second front against NATO in Europe. The first front is Ukraine, and the second front is this region.