According to European intelligence, Russia is planning sabotage across Europe, as reported by the Financial Times (FT) recently.
A Danish expert told Dagsavisen that the aim is to create uncertainty and confusion.
FT sources claim the Kremlin is planning hidden bombs, arson, and infrastructure attacks.
“Our assessment is that the risk of state-controlled sabotage acts has significantly increased. Russia now seems comfortable conducting operations on European soil, and the potential for damage is high,” Thomas Haldenwang, a leader in German intelligence, told the Financial Times.
European countries, including Norway, have already experienced a sharp increase in GPS interference.
Three weeks ago, the foreign ministers of the Baltic countries—Estonia, Lithuania, and Latvia—spoke to FT and explained the dire situation.
“The situation in the Baltic region near the Russian borders has now become too dangerous to ignore,” said Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis.
Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna said such actions are “hybrid attacks and a threat to our population and security.”
Jørgen Meedom Staun from the Danish Defense Academy told Dagsavisen that the Russian elite sees the war in Ukraine as a proxy war with the West.
“We see that the ‘red lines’ for Western support for Ukraine have also changed since the start of the Russian invasion, from supplying defensive equipment like helmets and bulletproof vests to now supplying tanks and fighter jets,” said the Danish expert, adding that “the Russian threshold for what it is willing to do to prevent or make it difficult for the West to support Ukraine has also shifted.”
The Danish expert also emphasizes that Russia primarily tries to reduce or complicate support for Ukraine with its sabotage.
“But they also generally seek to create uncertainty, confusion, and doubt, hoping that this might weaken European countries’ desire to support Ukraine and possibly bring more pro-Russian forces closer to power in European countries,” said Staun. Written by Jo Vinje Engvik on May 19, 2024.