The SBU and the HUR have been named among Europe's top intelligence services: where did the Ukrainian agencies rank?

01.08.2026, 02:35 visitukraine.today

Ukrainian intelligence agencies have made a major breakthrough on the international stage: According to the prestigious publication L’Express, the SBU and the Main Intelligence Directorate (GUR) have been ranked among the top five intelligence services in Europe, even ahead of Germany’s BND. Find out who took first place

The authoritative French publication L’Express has published a unique ranking of European intelligence services. Ukraine’s intelligence agencies—the SBU and the Main Intelligence Directorate (GUR)—achieved impressive results, confidently securing a spot in the top 5 and outperforming many of their experienced Western counterparts.

Based on the results of the expert vote, the Security Service of Ukraine and the Main Intelligence Directorate took a high fourth place, scoring 77 points.

As expected, the legendary British MI6 topped the list. Second place went to the French intelligence agency DGSE, while the Dutch intelligence service (AIVD) rounded out the top three. Notably, Ukrainian security agencies managed to outperform even the renowned German intelligence agency BND, which ranked only fifth, as well as the intelligence services of Sweden, Norway, and Poland.

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To compile this list, L’Express journalists spent three months speaking with representatives of intelligence agencies. Ultimately, they assembled an independent jury comprising 60 professional intelligence officers from 25 countries.

The evaluation system was designed to be as transparent as possible and based on real-world practice. Each jury member selected what they considered to be the five best foreign intelligence agencies. The main criteria for high scores were actual effectiveness in today’s environment and reliability as a partner.

As the authors of the article note, a large-scale “invisible war” is currently underway in Europe, about which ordinary people know almost nothing. And it is precisely under such harsh conditions that Ukrainian intelligence services have demonstrated their high level of competence in practice, earning the recognition of the global intelligence community.

Reminder! Following the incident in the Caspian Sea, Tehran openly threatened Ukraine with strikes. How real is this threat, what long-range systems does Iran have in its arsenal, and should we believe the rumors of an imminent attack?

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