Russia has launched a new wave of attacks on European weapons manufacturing plants under the guise of plausible deniability, according to Western intelligence sources, The Telegraph reports, writes UNN.
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"The Kremlin is recruiting local gang members to carry out sabotage against defense companies in order to test NATO's resolve," the publication says.
According to intelligence officials, "the attacks appear to have been carefully planned so as not to trigger the application of Article 5, NATO's mutual-defense clause."
A NATO official said: "In recent years, Russia has accelerated its destabilization campaigns against allies through cyberattacks, assassination attempts and acts of sabotage."
Other officials claim that what has become known as the Kremlin's "hybrid war" is aimed at escalating tensions among NATO allies and deterring support for Ukraine.
Describing a series of incidents in various European countries, the publication notes that "but, as in the cases of Estonia, Italy and Bulgaria, Russia very rarely leaves any evidence that would allow the attacks to be directly attributed to Moscow."
The Western intelligence assessment, as reported by the publication, "explained how Russia's military intelligence agency, the GRU, known for its attacks on foreign soil using highly trained operatives, has since shifted to using criminal groups."
In an interview with The Telegraph in March last year, Normunds Mežviets, head of Latvia's State Security Service, said: "Based on our experience, we do not see GRU officers physically traveling here, to our country. No, they remain in Russia, where it is safe. They do not risk their own operational and physical security."
"Instead, GRU officers cultivate sources in criminal groups to act as intermediaries in the target country, using online messaging applications such as Telegram. These intermediaries then assign tasks to local recruits, who are paid in cryptocurrency and often do not even know that they are working for Russia," the publication says.
"The covert nature of the attacks ordered by the Kremlin is viewed as a deliberate, cunning attempt to sow discord among NATO allies," the publication writes.
A NATO official meanwhile stated: "NATO continues to strengthen its resilience and is applying and improving the tools at our disposal to counter hybrid activities. We continue to monitor malicious activity carried out against allies, including through intermediaries. At every stage, we will ensure that the Alliance is ready to deter and defend against any threat, as well as to ensure the security of our one billion citizens."