Russia remains 'aggressor number one,' UK's MI5 spy agency chief warns in threat update
Ken McCallum said the ramp up in alleged Russian hybrid attacks across Europe had come as Russia's military progress in Ukraine was "minimal and horrifically costly."
British MI5 chief Ken McCallum warned on Tuesday that Russia remains the world's primary aggressor. During an annual speech at Thames House in London, McCallum stated that the UK's domestic intelligence agency has been focusing more resources on countering state threats than during the Cold War. He noted that Russia's military and intelligence services are intensifying their hybrid warfare efforts, avoiding the NATO Article 5 threshold, which they would be foolish to cross.
Several countries, including Germany and Estonia, have accused Moscow of being behind hybrid attacks on European soil in recent months. McCallum emphasized that these incidents are part of Russia's strategy to unsettle European nations amid its ongoing war in Ukraine, launched in February 2022. The Russian military's progress in Ukraine is described as minimal and exceedingly costly.
McCallum also attributed a rise in hybrid threats to Russia using proxies to carry out attacks, as its traditional covert operations have significantly diminished following the invasion. He accused Iran of subcontracting violence and expanding its hybrid campaign, with Iranian-linked operations resulting in over 50 arrests in the UK over the past year, primarily targeting Jewish communities and military sites.
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