Military espionage case started with claims that Postmedia journalist is linked to Russia: sources

A Canadian military counter-intelligence operative, who stands accused of passing sensitive information to Ukraine, was involved in an investigation into allegations that a leading Canadian defence journalist was a longtime Russian asset.

Two sources with knowledge of the case tell CBC News that Master Warrant Officer Matthew Robar was tasked to look into claims that Postmedia journalist David Pugliese had been recruited by the KGB in the early 1980s.

The sensational allegations were made in public before the House of Commons committee on public safety on Oct. 24, 2024, by former Conservative cabinet minister Chris Alexander, who produced a dossier of records purportedly from old KGB archives in Kyiv.

Pugliese, a tenacious journalist with the Ottawa Citizen who has exposed wrongdoing and mismanagement at the Department of National Defence for years, has vehemently denied the allegations, including in his own appearance before the Commons committee last year.

Robar faces eight charges under the National Defence Act and the Security of Information Act. He is accused of having unauthorized contact with a "foreign entity," according to court records.

CBC News has confirmed through confidential sources that the individual was a representative of Ukraine’s defence intelligence agency.

As part of his investigation into the Pugliese dossier, Robar was introduced to an individual by another Canadian official. That set into motion the relationship which ultimately led to the charges laid against the veteran counter-intelligence officer on Dec. 10.

The seven-page dossier on Pugliese’s alleged Russian intelligence ties mysteriously surfaced in Eastern Europe in 2023 and Ukraine intelligence’s directorate (DIU) was handed a copy, according to two confidential sources, who asked not to be named because of the sensitivity of the investigation.

The Ukrainians' overall intelligence agency, in turn, turned the dossier over to Canadian intelligence and "offered assistance" in investigating, the sources added. 

However, the suspicion — inside and outside — of the intelligence communities in both countries is that the documents are part of an elaborate Russian information operations campaign designed to discredit a number of Canadians, sow confusion in the political and institutional ranks of Canada’s Defence Department and drive a wedge between Canada and Ukraine.

"It has all the hallmarks of a Russian intelligence information operation, of which, you know, they are very experienced," said national security expert Wesley Wark. "Not to say that they're geniuses at it, but they have, what is it, 100-plus years of experience at doing these kinds of operations."

A spokesperson for the Ukrainian Embassy in Canada would not comment on the Robar case, nor the allegations contained in the Pugliese dossier.

"With respect for the important work of the mass media, we would like to note that the Embassy of Ukraine in Canada does not comment on allegations or information attributed to anonymous or unidentified sources," said Marianna Kulava, who added the embassy has not been contacted by Canadian authorities.

"We highly value our close partnership and friendship with Canada, and we are profoundly grateful for all the strong and principled support Canada and Canadians continue to generously provide to Ukraine."