European security services are on high alert as they suspect russia of numerous attempts to organise arson and sabotage attacks on infrastructure across Europe. Security services say that a series of fires and attacks on infrastructure may be part of russia's attempt to destabilise the continent. UNN writes about this with reference to The Guardian.
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After a series of fires and attacks on infrastructure in the Baltic States, Germany and the United Kingdom, security services across Europe are on high alert for potential new weapons of russian war - arson and sabotage.
In particular, when a fire broke out in Lithuania's IKEA this month, Polish prime minister Donald Tusk suggested that it could have been the work of a foreign saboteur.
Investigators have already claimed possible russian involvement in the arson attack in east London, a fire at Poland's largest shopping mall,An Attempted Sabotage in Bavaria in Germany, and anti-Semitic graffiti in Paris.
Last week, Tusk reported that the Polish authorities arrested nine people in connection with acts of sabotage, probably committed on the orders of russian services. He stated that these crimes included beatings and arson.
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At the moment, there is no clear evidence that any of these incidents were coordinated. However, the security services believe that they may be part of moscow's attempt to destabilize the West, which supported Ukraine. It is noted that after the Cold War, foreign intelligence operations consisted of spies and their curators, but in the age of social media, vandals can be hired, leaving little connection to other attackers, such as saboteurs who are paid several hundred euros or cryptocurrency.
Concerns that these hybrid attacks could be linked to russia are growing so much that the issue was raised at a summit of foreign and defense ministers in Brussels this week, where security officials from the Netherlands, Estonia and Lithuania warned of national vulnerabilities.
One minister told The Guardian that they were deeply concerned about "physical sabotage organized, funded and carried out by russian puppets.
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On Tuesday, Estonian Defense Minister Hanna Pekur, while in Brussels for the EU defense summit, said that the country was also a victim of russian sabotage.
They conducted similar operations in Estonia. They hired 10 people to attack the interior minister's car and the journalist's car. This is normal behavior of russia. We are sorry to say this, but we must understand that russia is becoming more and more aggressive towards European countries, as well as NATO countries
He was referring to the incidents in February when the car windows of interior minister Lauri Lianemets and a journalist were smashed.
According to the prosecutor, six people were arrested shortly after, including russian citizens and persons with dual russian-Estonian citizenship.