Investigation of Russian interference consumes as much time as terrorism: European officials on the goal of Moscow's sabotage

The recent sabotage in Poland is one of the incidents that, according to Western officials, are part of a campaign to destabilize Europe orchestrated by Russia. The head of a major European intelligence agency said that investigations into Russian interference now consume as much of the agency's time as terrorism, UNN reports with reference to AP.

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The publication reminds that in November, a train carrying almost 500 people suddenly stopped in eastern Poland. A torn communication line broke several windows, and the track ahead was damaged. Elsewhere along the lines, explosives detonated under a passing freight train.

In neither case were there any injuries, and the damage was minor, but Poland, which blamed Russian intelligence services for the attack, reacted decisively: it deployed 10,000 troops to protect critical infrastructure.

Poland expects escalation of Russian sabotage after railway explosion25.11.25, 14:51 • 2513 views

The sabotage in Poland is one of 145 incidents in the Associated Press database that Western officials say are part of a campaign to destabilize Europe orchestrated by Russia. Officials say the campaign, which began after President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, aims to deprive Kyiv of support, create divisions among Europeans, and expose the continent's security vulnerabilities.

So far in this hybrid war, most known acts of sabotage have resulted in minimal damage — nothing compared to the tens of thousands of lives lost and cities destroyed across Ukraine.

But officials say each act — from vandalism of monuments to cyberattacks and warehouse fires — consumes valuable security resources. The head of one major European intelligence agency said that investigations into Russian interference now consume as much of the agency's time as terrorism.

While this campaign places a heavy burden on European security services, it costs Russia almost nothing, officials say. This is because Moscow conducts cross-border operations that require European countries to cooperate extensively in investigations, often using foreigners with criminal backgrounds as cheap intermediaries for Russian intelligence officers. This means Moscow wins simply by tying up resources, even when plots fail, AP writes.

"It's a 24/7 operation between all services to stop this," said a senior European intelligence official, who, like the head of the European intelligence service and other officials who spoke to AP, insisted on anonymity to discuss sensitive security matters.

Over the course of a year, AP spoke with more than 40 European and NATO officials from 13 countries to document the scale of this hybrid war.

In turn, Russian dictator's spokesman Dmitry Peskov told AP that Russia has "no connection" to this campaign.

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The publication notes that the AP database currently shows a surge in the number of arsons and explosions from one in 2023 to 26 in 2024. Six of them have been documented so far in 2025. Meanwhile, three cases of vandalism were registered last year, and one this year.

The data is incomplete because not all incidents are made public, and it can take officials months to establish a connection to Moscow. But the surge is consistent with what officials have warned: the campaign is becoming increasingly dangerous.