Russia suspected in the wave of sabotage across Europe

Security services claim that the wave of fires and attacks on infrastructure may be part of a Russian plan to destabilise the continent, reports "The Guardian". The British newspaper emphasises that in light of recent events, services across Europe have been placed on "high alert".

Media across Europe are reporting acts of sabotage aimed at European countries. As the British newspaper The Guardian reported, "security services say spate of fires and infrastructure attacks could be part of attempt by Russia to destabilise continent."

The newspaper recalls a series of unsettling events in Europe. It emphasises that after the outbreak of a fire at Ikea in Vilnius, the Polish Prime Minister suggested that the arson could have been the work of a "foreign saboteur."

While there is no evidence that any of these incidents across the continent are coordinated, security services believe they could be part of an attempt by Moscow to destabilise the west, which has backed Ukraine, writes "The Guardian".

In the age of social media, Russian special services may have changed tactics. Today, reaching potential people who will follow any order for the right price is easier.

"The Guardian" emphasises that "emerging concern that these hybrid attacks could be the work of Russia that the issue was raised at a summit of foreign and defence ministers in Brussels."

Several large fires broke out across Europe in the span of a few days, the largest in Poland. As Donald Tusk recently emphasised, investigators are checking whether Russia had anything to do with it.

However, as "The Guardian" reminds us, the number of sabotage operations is more significant. Among their targets were a warehouse in the United Kingdom, a paint factory in Poland, and an Ikea store in Vilnius. The newspaper also recalls a series of cyberattacks in Germany by hackers linked to Russian intelligence.

"Six people were arrested shortly afterwards, including Russian nationals and dual Russian-Estonian citizens, the prosecutor said. In Germany, there are also suspicions of foreign intelligence-driven attacks in addition to a wave of cyber-attacks in 2023 by a hacker group linked to Russian intelligence," recalls the Guardian.

Europe is trying to defend itself. The British newspaper notes that the Lithuanian National Crisis Management Center warned businesses, including shopping centres and organisations supporting Ukraine, to increase vigilance. Meanwhile, the Dutch National Coordinator for Security and Counterterrorism warned of the risk of subversive operations in the Netherlands.

– Yes, we are vulnerable. I think all of us are. [...] We are seeing now in several European countries that Russia is trying to destabilise us and also to intimidate us – said Dutch Defence Minister Kajsa Ollongren recently. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has similar observations, admitting there has been "increased Russian intelligence activity across the alliance".