Black Ops Cold War Operation Red Circus suspects and evidence

black ops cold war operation red circus
(Image credit: Activision)

The Black Ops Cold War Operation Red Circus asks you to pick three suspects using evidence you need to find elsewhere. It's tricky because there are three pieces of evidence found in other missions that have to be found to give you the information you need to correctly identify your targets during the Operation Red Circus mission itself.

Coming up, I'm going to explain where to find all the evidence, and then how to review suspects and pick the right Operation Red Circus targets.

Black Ops Cold War ending | Black Ops Cold War zombies | Black Ops Cold War Dark Ops | Black Ops Cold War best guns | Kill or rescue the Black Ops Cold War operative Lucas Richter | Black Ops Cold War floppy disk

Black Ops Cold War Operation Red Circus mission explained

black ops cold war operation red circus suspects

(Image credit: Activision)

You'll be told about Operation Red Circus in Black Ops Cold War when you're first introduced to the evidence board, along with Operation Chaos. These form the two main side missions you can do anytime alongside the main campaign. However, while you can just jump in and try your luck then and there, both need evidence located in other missions if you want to absolutely 100% them and get the best resolution. 

In the case of Operation Red Circus your target is the Soviet major Vadim Rudnik, who's helping Perseus place agents in various European governments. You can just start the mission and go after Rudnik but unless you identify three of his assets beforehand you'll only take out the Spymaster and not the spies. 

There are eight Operation Red Circus suspects in total, each listed with a photo and some details, including a recent travel itinerary. By finding evidence in other missions you'll get info that will help you narrow down the options, and with all three pieces of evidence you should be able to pinpoint three candidates exactly. Fortunately, if you've missed any evidence you can replay missions to look for it. Let's see where you can find it all.

Operation Red Circus evidence locations

1. Franz Kraus's Ledger, Brick in the Wall 

operation red circus evidence Franz Kraus's Ledger

(Image credit: Activision)

The first piece of evidence is Franz Kraus's Ledger, which you can find during the Brick in the Wall mission. You need to do the mission to kill or rescue the Black Ops Cold War operative Lucas Richter, as it's the only way to access the area where it's fund. When you do that mission you'll discover a basement and, on a table inside, a tape reel next to a camera. For some reason this will appear as a book when you examine the evidence back at the safe house.

2. Cassette tape with activities report, Echoes of a Cold War

operation red circus evidence Cassette tape

(Image credit: Activision)

The Echoes of a Cold War mission will see you revisiting the Mount Yamantau facility from the original Black Ops. When you enter the first building via the hole in the wall on the ground floor you'll find a cassette tape on a table, that's another piece of Operation Red Circus evidence. 

3. Wrist Watch containing dead drop list, Desperate Measures 

operation red circus evidence Wrist Watch

(Image credit: Activision)

The mission you undertake in The KGB Lubyanka headquarters contains the final piece of evidence, and is the hardest to find. This level is an open space you can freely explore and the evidence appears to be either bugged, potentially can spawn anywhere on the map, making it trickier to find. 

(Image credit: Activision)

If you're having trouble finding it there does seem to be a way that will increase your chances (I got it this way on a third try). Once you've cleared the camera room and deactivated surveillance, the level opens up completely and you can go anywhere. If you go immediately to the Records Room, before any other locations, the watch should be on a desk there. That's the red marked room just above and to the right of the map center. It's not one of the initially marked objectives so it's easy to complete the mission without ever going there, depending on the choices you make. However, it looks like the watch has the greatest chance of appearing here if you go there before you visit anywhere else and trigger potential side objectives. It should appear on a desk, in a back room next to a green lamp.

How to review and mark suspects in Operation Red Circus

black ops cold war operation red circus

(Image credit: Activision)

As we mentioned earlier, you'll have eight suspects to look at and need to pick three before you start the mission. If you pick correctly, you'll take out Vadim personally while the identified spies are dealt with separately. 

The evidence will consists of names, dates and pronouns, and will be randomized so you'll have to do some detective work to figure things out. There will be three code names mentioned, and as far as we can tell these are always Bearded Lady, Strong Man and Juggler. Each piece of evidence will contain code names, dates, locations and, in one case, genders, that you will need to cross-reference to identify each suspect. The suspect list will have a picture that shows if they appear male or female, as well as a list of places and the dates they were there.  

Here's what you've got to look for: 

  • Wrist watch containing dead drop list - this will show each suspect was in one location on a certain date. 
  • Cassette tape with activities report - this will have a small report on each suspect with a specific gender associated with them. 
  • Franz Kraus's Ledger - this will also show the suspect was in a certain location on a certain date, via a financial transaction. 

The only way to identify the three suspects is to compare all the intel in these three pieces of evidence. For each of the code names you should find one suspect that matches both dates from the Wrist Watch and Ledger, with the mention of gender eliminating any male or female suspects that might share dates.

Once you've picked your three targets, launch the mission to take down Vadim and, if you're right, you'll see a notification pop up at the end saying you correctly identified all the spies.  

Leon Hurley
Managing editor for guides

I'm GamesRadar's Managing Editor for guides, which means I run GamesRadar's guides and tips content. I also write reviews, previews and features, largely about horror, action adventure, FPS and open world games. I previously worked on Kotaku, and the Official PlayStation Magazine and website. 

Read more
Judy in Cyberpunk 2077 leaning over the player in a chair.
Cyberpunk 2077 The Information walkthrough and mission guide
Cyberpunk 2077 1R-ONC-LAD
Cyberpunk 2077 Ironclad software locations in Phantom Liberty
Black Ops 6 Separation Anxiety code
Black Ops 6 Separation Anxiety code and puzzle guide
Stalker 2 Lost Boys Dew or the Ninth
Stalker 2 The Lost Boys walkthrough and should you side with Dew or the Ninth?
A cyberpsycho with a sledgehammer approaching the player through a broken sign in Cyberpunk 2077.
All Cyberpunk 2077 Cyberpsycho locations
The NetWatch Agent in Cyberpunk 2077.
The best Cyberpunk 2077 NetWatch Agent choice explained
Latest in Call of Duty
A player wearing a gasmask and holding a gun during the shooter, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6.
Call of Duty season 2 brings back Gun Game and a fan-favorite Zombies weapon we haven't seen in 10 years
A player wearing a gasmask and holding a gun during the shooter, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6.
136,000 Call of Duty accounts have gotten banned since ranked launched for Black Ops 6: "We’re not slowing down in our mission to shut down cheaters"
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War reportedly surpasses Red Dead Redemption 2's huge development costs, with a massive $700 million budget
Black Ops 6
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 makes headshots deadlier while cutting back on weapon sway and recoil: "We will be keeping a close eye on sniper balance after this change"
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 movement.
Black Ops 6 player spent nearly 20 hours grinding to Prestige without getting a single kill, all by spamming Spy Cams
Black Ops 6 Zombies
Call of Duty hacker says "I had my fun" after reportedly getting thousands of Warzone and Modern Warfare 3 players falsely banned
Latest in Guides
Assassin's Creed Shadows Claws of Awaji expansion Naoe and Yasuke in Awaji forest
Assassin's Creed Shadows roadmap, DLC and future content
A scary emoji shown in horror game REPO.
Is REPO coming to consoles?
Monster Hunter Wilds Nu Udra Palico
How to get the Monster Hunter Wilds Aqua Sac and Flame Sac
WWE 2K25
WWE 2K25 DLC guide to all Season Pass wrestlers
Monster Hunter Wilds screenshot showing a fiery octopus monster grabbing player
Monster Hunter Wilds Black Flame location and boss fight guide
Monster Hunter Wilds Aqua Sac and Flame Sac
The best Monster Hunter Wilds mods and how to install them