Denmark says Russia has conducted sabotage attacks against its defense firms

Denmark has accused Russia of conducting sabotage attacks against its defense firms, following its belief that broader disruption efforts against Ukraine were unsuccessful in deterring Western military support. The shift in Russia's approach reflects a significant escalation in Moscow's hybrid warfare campaign, according to a Danish intelligence official speaking at a homeland security conference in Copenhagen.

The official noted that initial planning efforts in the spring yielded little results, but by early summer, Russia began carrying out more attacks. Russia concluded that its previous targeting strategy had failed to deter NATO from supporting Ukraine, and now aims to target production facilities directly impacting the front line.

While Russia maintains political control over these operations, its operational boldness is growing. Moscow has repeatedly denied involvement in these attacks, rejecting Danish allegations as unfounded. The Russian embassy in Copenhagen accused Danish authorities of making baseless accusations. The official cited a Russian defense ministry list of alleged European drone and drone component manufacturers as potential targets, without further elaboration.

Russia is increasingly employing untrained proxies, including homeless individuals and drug addicts, recruited through social media platforms. These recruits typically start with low-threshold tasks before escalating to sabotage operations. Denmark's defense intelligence service warned last month that Russia is likely to intensify hybrid attacks against the West in the coming months, following an attempted drone attack at Leipzig/Halle Airport in August and drone disruptions at six Danish airports, including Copenhagen, in September 2025.