Suspected Russian sabotage: The great return of Kremlin agents to Europe?

Amid fresh intelligence warnings that Russia is preparing “violent acts of sabotage” targeting Europe and NATO member states, security experts tell FRANCE 24 that they have already noted a significant uptick in what appear to be covert Russian sabotage operations.

In a May 5 exclusive, the Financial Times reported that intelligence services from three different European countries have warned their governments that Russian agents are in the midst of plotting a series of bombing, arson and infrastructure attacks on European soil.

“We assess the risk of [Russian] state-controlled acts of sabotage to be significantly increased,” Thomas Haldenwang, the head of German domestic intelligence, told a security conference in April, noting that the attacks would come with “a high potential for damage”.

Arson and sabotage

NATO is also on alert, a senior European government official told the paper, saying the alliance’s security services have brought to the table “clear and convincing information on Russian mischief”.

The Kremlin scoffed at the claims, rejecting them as “unfounded” and “not serious”.

But the warnings are not all that easy to dismiss. Especially as they have come amid of spate of sabotage attacks in both Europe and the United States in recent months with suspected links to Russian intelligence services. And the list of incidents continues to grow.

Read more on FRANCE 24 English

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