Russia has launched sabotage operations against Danish companies supplying goods to Ukraine, Denmark’s Security and Intelligence Service (PET) said, Reuters reports.
PET’s lead analyst, Josephine Christensen, said the shift in tactics points to an escalation of Russia’s hybrid war against the West. She said Danish intelligence services recorded a great deal of planning by Russia in the spring but few concrete actions, while the number of operations began to rise in early summer.
According to Christensen, Moscow concluded that its previous attempts to influence various targets had not persuaded the West and NATO to abandon support for Ukraine. Russia is now trying to strike sites that directly affect the situation on the front line, including weapons manufacturers.
The PET representative noted that political control over such operations remains in Russia, but those carrying them out are acting with increasing audacity.
According to Danish intelligence, Russia is also recruiting untrained people for sabotage, including homeless people and those with drug addictions, via Telegram and other social networks. At first, they may be offered simple tasks—reconnaissance or photographing sites—before being drawn into direct acts of sabotage.
“It could be anyone who simply wants to make quick money,” Christensen said.
She added that if an operation fails, Russian organisers may bring in other operatives until they achieve their objective.
In April, Russia’s Ministry of Defence published a list of European manufacturers of drones and their components that Moscow has designated as potential military targets.
In September, Denmark’s Defence Intelligence Service warned that Russia would likely step up hybrid attacks against Western countries in the coming months.