On Friday, media outlets in Ireland and Bulgaria received emails containing bomb threats. The author, who identified himself as "Mikhail Andropov," claimed responsibility for a wave of hoax reports that caused disruptions to passenger air travel across Europe, UNN reports, citing Reuters.
The messages sent to Bulgarian television channel Nova TV and Irish public broadcaster RTE (which evacuated its staff and suspended broadcasting as a result) were titled "Message to the West." They described the threats as a prelude to a series of attacks on transport infrastructure in Europe. British broadcaster Sky also reported receiving a security-related threat.
Reuters was unable to establish the sender’s identity, the origin of the emails, or confirm whether they came from the same source as the threats that had affected dozens of flights since Tuesday.
These incidents heightened the concerns of European officials, who suspect that the hoax reports are part of a campaign of "hybrid" sabotage — which many accuse Russia of conducting — aimed at countries providing assistance to Ukraine. Moscow denies involvement.
Spain’s Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares said that Europe appeared to be facing "hybrid aggression and a form of psychological warfare."
No explosive devices were found; all aircraft, including those threatened on Friday, landed safely.
European flights once again faced a wave of bomb threats — which ones were affected06.11.26, 15:08
Flight incidents
On Thursday, security experts said the threats could be intended to punish European states providing weapons or funding to Ukraine in its fight against the full-scale invasion launched by Russia in 2022. At the same time, it cannot be ruled out that the perpetrators may deliberately mislead investigators, imitate the actions of others, or be acting for personal reasons.
On Tuesday, similar incidents disrupted the schedules of around six flights, and on Thursday, more than 24. Some aircraft were forced to make unscheduled landings, while others proceeded to their destinations escorted by fighter jets.
On Friday, a source in the administration of an Italian airport said that a Wizz Air flight from Prague to Rome had been diverted to Venice. However, despite more than a dozen hoax bomb threats, the overall number of direct disruptions to air traffic was significantly lower. Nevertheless, Hungarian fighter jets escorted passenger aircraft traveling from Brussels to Sofia, as well as from Prague to Bucharest and Cyprus, when they passed through Hungarian airspace. Defense Minister Romulus Rusin-Szendi said that NATO had ordered air patrols to be organized in the region; this was the first indication that the Western defense alliance had intervened in the situation.
Although no country has directly identified those responsible for the threats, they have become part of a wave of sabotage and attacks on facilities across Europe — from German electrical substations to defense companies in the Baltic states, as well as refrigeration equipment in supermarkets in France and other countries. Germany directly accused Russia of a drone attack on Leipzig Airport.
"Russian trail"
Many European officials accuse Russia of conducting a campaign of "hybrid" actions (or "gray-zone" activities). Such operations are generally inexpensive to carry out, easy to deny, and, according to the organizers’ calculations, should not provoke an armed response.
European Commissioner for Technology Henna Virkkunen told Reuters on Thursday that since 2022, Europe had faced a series of hybrid operations, including sabotage at critical infrastructure facilities, drone incursions, cyberattacks, and interference in electoral processes.
"We are constantly under attack," she said. "The aim of these operations is to destabilize our societies and sow distrust among citizens."
"Russia is not always behind the various hybrid operations," she added, "but quite often it is."