European intelligence agencies have warned their governments that Russia is planning continent-wide sabotage.
Representatives of European intelligence agencies believe that Russia has begun to actively plan covert bombings, arson and infrastructure damage on European territory, directly and through intermediaries.
The Financial Times has seen intelligence assessments from three European countries that show evidence of more aggressive and coordinated sabotage efforts.
Intelligence officials are increasingly talking about the threat in an effort to increase vigilance.
“We estimate that the risk of state-controlled sabotage has increased significantly,” Thomas Haldenwang, head of Germany’s Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV), said last month.
Haldenwang emphasized that Russia now feels comfortable conducting operations on European soil “[with] a high potential for damage.”
One senior European official said that information about “clear and convincing Russian wrongdoing” that was coordinated and large-scale was being passed through NATO’s security services.
He added that it is time to “raise awareness and focus” on the threat of Russian aggression on European soil.
One intelligence official said Moscow’s sabotage efforts should not be viewed in isolation from other operations. He added that the increased activity reflects Russia’s desire to exert maximum pressure “over the pieces.”
He said Russian ruler Vladimir Putin now feels “emboldened” and will try to push the dividing lines in Europe as far as he can on several fronts: through disinformation, sabotage or hacking.
On Friday, the Norwegian Police Security Service (PST) revealed that Russian intelligence agents are working in western Norway, which could mean that Russia may be preparing sabotage operations on critical infrastructure.
In addition, two Germans of Russian origin were recently arrested in Germany, suspected of looking for potential targets for sabotage against German support for Ukraine, Klix.ba reports.
E.Dz.
