Accused Russian spy reveals gripe with Australia in YouTube videos

A soldier accused of being a Russian spy and leaking national secrets posted on YouTube about her gripes with Australia.

A Queensland soldier accused of being a Russian had a YouTube channel in which she shared some of her gripes about the nation.

On Friday morning, Russian-born Australian citizens Kira Korolev, 40, and her husband Igor, 62, became the first people to be charged with espionage since 2018 after allegedly working together to leak state secrets to Russia.

Ms Korolev, who was employed with the Australian Defence Force as an information systems technician for “several years”, was allegedly undertaking non-declared travel to Russia while on leave from the ADF and instructed her husband Igor – who remained in Australia – to log into her work account from their Brisbane home, AFP Commissioner Reece Kershaw said.

The Korolev couple were arrested as part of a complex investigation involving the Australian Federal Police and ASIO and are now both in jail until their next court appearance in September.

They have both been charged with one count of preparing for an espionage offence. It carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison.

Ms Korolev has previously shared her escapades travelling around Australia on a YouTube channel where she made observations about the nation she now calls home.

A Russian-born Brisbane couple have become the first in Australia to be charged with espionage offences after authorities allegedly caught the wife – a private in the Australian Defence Force – trying to pass information back to the Kremlin. Picture: Facebook

A screenshot from Kira Korolev's YouTube Channel. Source: YouTube.

Ms Korolev’s YouTube videos, which are all in Russian, show her travelling around the nation. She is smiling in the videos and appears to be mainly sharing a positive message about Australia, its sights and its people.

However, she also highlighted some of her more negative experiences in Australia.

“In today’s video we will discuss the difficulties of immigration and adaptation in Australia, some of the disadvantages of living here and ask the question: who might not want to move?” she said in one video.

She went on to explain that Australians can be rude, including that they will “burp at the table”, while other people will tell on you to your boss

The Russian-born army private also said it was difficult to find work and also that everything was quite expensive, especially medical care.

She also described Townsville as the crime capital of the country.

Moving from overseas with just a partner could “become very lonely”, she added.

“I’m sure there will be comments like ‘why haven’t you left yet …?’.

“I answer: ‘if everything was so bad, then I probably wouldn’t have lived here for 10 years’.”

Igor and Kira Korolev appeared in Brisbane Magistrates Court on Friday after they were arrested as part of a complex investigation involving the Australian Federal Police and ASIO. Picture: YouTube.

Kira Korolev said Australians were rude and it was too expensive here. Picture: YouTube.

The Korolev couple have lived in Australia for 15 years. They previously lived in Wodonga, Victoria, before moving to Brisbane.

Ms Korolev appears to have travelled widely across Australia, with snaps showing her visiting a brewery in Hobart, a South Australian mining town, at restaurants in Melbourne, visiting the Royal Australian Mint in Canberra, taking a video of a crocodile outside Darwin, and going to far north tropical Queensland.

But at the same time, Ms Korolev’s social media activity seems to indicate strong links to her Russian past.

She’s active on Facebook with more than a dozen groups for Moscow expatriates.

In 2022, Ms Korolev posted a video on YouTube showing she had returned to her home country for a short trip.

The AFP alleges it was while she was in Russia that she shared secrets with Russian authorities. It also alleges she gave her husband login details for her work account so that he could log in remotely while still being based in Australia.

Social media posts show photos from her time in Russia.

“Hi friends! I’m in Moscow now,” she posted as she stood by an icy river running through Moscow.

— With NCA Newswire

Originally published as Accused Russian spy reveals gripe with Australia in YouTube videos