Kremlin Recruiting Criminals Abroad to Carry Out Sabotage at Defense Companies

The Kremlin is allegedly recruiting criminals from other countries to carry out sabotage attacks on European defense industry sites, according to Ukraine's Center for Countering Disinformation (CCD). On August 26, the center revealed that Western media had reported on Russia's efforts to enlist individuals to target defense-related enterprises throughout Europe.

A specific example cited was an attempted arson incident at a facility in Prešov, Slovakia, operated by Skyeton, a Ukrainian firm that creates drones. Despite the attack, police managed to thwart it and apprehended the suspects, who are currently being interrogated to determine the incident's background and intent.

The CCD highlighted that this was not an isolated incident targeting European military or defense facilities. Earlier reports indicated that Estonian authorities were probing Russia's possible involvement in a fire at the Milrem Robotics plant, which produces military robots. Additionally, there were allegations of a powerful explosion at a military ammunition depot near Rome and a fire at a military facility in Bulgaria.

Russia's military intelligence unit 29155 is believed to be behind a plethora of covert operations abroad. This unit is reportedly engaged in activities such as attacks on ammunition storage sites and military installations, assassination attempts, poisoning, and other acts of sabotage.

In response to these hybrid threats, Western allies are enhancing security measures at vital facilities, enhancing intelligence cooperation, and formulating countermeasures to mitigate Russian provocations in Europe. The CCD emphasized that the reported sabotage attempts are part of a wider pattern of Russian hybrid activity targeting European security and defense infrastructure.