Financial Times has today a report on the sharply increasing volume of hybrid attacks against Europe. The attacks follow the template of Soviet operations and Cold War planning.
It has been close a number of times. In July 2024, 6-kilogram charges exploded in DHL's exchanges in Poland, the UK and Germany. Each of these could have blown a passenger plane out of the sky. In several European countries, identical "targeting" of politicians' homes and cars has been seen. It is not only Russian citizens who are benefited, but also national citizens and from third countries.
And so forth.
European countries face a number of dilemmas. How much should be said in public? Will openness run Russia's errand?
The German parliamentarian Konstantin von Notz states that European states are being paralyzed by their own regulations.
The uncomfortable question: what do we do the day something really bad happens? Nothing? We should have decided in advance, are there any political authorities that dare? Or should we accept everything that comes our way?
Russian Agents Reportedly Targeting Key Infrastructure for Sabotage
Russian agents are reportedly intensifying their surveillance of critical infrastructure, with a particular focus on examining railway and automotive bridges, raising concerns that these may be targeted for potential sabotage. According to European intelligence sources, there are fears that these agents are preparing to plant explosives on key transport links across the continent.
In addition, one European intelligence official has confirmed that Russian operatives are actively seeking weak spots in railway systems throughout Europe, potentially to disrupt transportation and logistics.
Recent reports also reveal that a Russian sabotage network had been planning to plant explosives on planes en route to the United States. Authorities have confirmed that enough explosives were seized to orchestrate large-scale terrorist attacks in mid-air.
Earlier this year, the Polish prosecutor's office disclosed that a series of arson attacks on packages in logistics centers across Poland, Germany, and the United Kingdom were part of an effort to sabotage flights to the US and Canada. Western intelligence agencies have also thwarted plots to derail trains, set fire to shopping malls, and poison water supplies.
"The public is only aware of the tip of the iceberg," says Kir Giles, an expert on Russia at Chatham House. "There are many more operations that governments have chosen not to disclose."
Moscow is reportedly employing a variety of methods to carry out its operations, including the recruitment of Eastern Europeans and local criminal groups. These operations are said to be conducted remotely, using encrypted messaging apps and cryptocurrencies to conceal the identities and movements of operatives.
Further intelligence indicates that many of these operations are part of long-term planning efforts. Despite the expulsion of numerous Russian spies from Europe in recent years, Kremlin intelligence agencies are said to be making renewed attempts to infiltrate European countries using specially trained professionals.
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/gunnar-gabrielsen-79a68a2_russias-hybrid-warfare-puts-europe-to-the-activity-7404140422312239104-7sPB
https://www.linkedin.com/company/financial-times/
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https://www.ft.com/content/2084e87d-d491-4852-8449-f90b73d4788b