The new head of British intelligence MI6, Blaise Metreveli, stated in her first public speech that the world has entered an "era of uncertainty," where Russia is deliberately blurring the lines between peace and war. According to her, Vladimir Putin's regime has made "exporting chaos" the basis of its international strategy. This is reported by Independent, writes UNN.
Details
Metreveli emphasized that the threat from Moscow today is not only open military strikes, but primarily covert operations: sabotage, cyberattacks, assassinations, and economic warfare. The key tool of the Kremlin has become "non-state actors" - private individuals and companies that secretly act in the interests of the GRU, allowing Moscow to officially deny its involvement.
Among the examples of such activities, intelligence highlights:
Economic espionage: Using financial structures (as in the case of Jan Marsalek and Wirecard) to destabilize the European economy and finance spy networks.
Sabotage and arson: Recruiting petty criminals online to attack strategic targets, such as the arson of a warehouse with aid for Ukraine in London.
Defense procurement fraud: Using shell companies to siphon off funds intended for the purchase of ammunition for the Armed Forces of Ukraine, which undermines Ukraine's defense capabilities.
Increased tension
The MI6 warning came amid the strengthening of the defense alliance between Britain, France, and Germany, which promised to deploy their troops in Ukraine to monitor future peace. An additional factor of tension was the recent detention of a Russian "shadow fleet" tanker off the British coast by US forces and the Royal Navy.
The front line is now everywhere
She called on Europe to be ready for increased Russian aggression in all spheres of life, as the Kremlin is ready to do anything to spread discord among Western allies.