The Russian side “has already begun to increase its covert bombings, arson and damage to infrastructure on European territory, both directly and through intermediaries, with no apparent concern for civilian casualties,” writes The Financial Times, citing information from intelligence officials.
“Although Kremlin agents have been preparing such operations for a long time and have carried out isolated attacks in Europe in recent years, there is increasing evidence of a more aggressive and coordinated effort,” the journalists received assessments from three different European countries.
One intelligence official said Russian dictator Vladimir Putin now feels “emboldened” and will try to pressure Europe as much as possible on multiple fronts, whether through disinformation, sabotage or hacking attacks.
According to one senior European government official, NATO security services are receiving information about “clear and convincing Russian malicious activity” that is coordinated and large-scale. He added that it was time to “raise awareness and focus” on the threat of Russian violence on European soil.
A senior researcher at the Chatham House think tank believes that Russian activity has indeed increased. “These targeted attacks that we’ve seen so far are of course aimed at causing unrest, but they can also be used for disinformation. And then Russia learns from these attacks if it really wants to immobilize Europe… This is training,” the expert shared his opinion.
In April, Sweden’s transport minister reported that Russia had tried to destroy signaling systems on Czech railways. Swedish law enforcement officials are investigating several recent train crashes that they believe may have been caused by sabotage.
The Estonian Internal Security Service reported that in February the attack on the interior minister’s car and journalists was carried out by Russian spies.
In addition, there are believed to be “Russian traces” in last year’s hacking attack on German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democratic Party.
It is worth noting that in 2024 At the beginning of May, a powerful fire broke out in the defense factory Diehl Metal Applications, which belongs to the Diehl Defense company, in Berlin, the capital of Germany. This company develops IRIS-T air defense systems, which the German side handed over to Ukraine to protect itself from Russian airstrikes.
As the portal UNIAN reminds, after the Russians carried out a large-scale invasion of Ukraine, more than 600 Russian intelligence officers who worked under diplomatic cover were sent from Europe within two weeks.
Tags: intelligence warns Russian plans violence sabotage Europe
