Western officials say Russia is behind a campaign of sabotage across Europe
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Western officials have accused Russia and its proxies of staging dozens of attacks and other incidents across Europe since the invasion of Ukraine three years ago, according to data collected by The Associated Press.
They allege the disruption campaign is an extension of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war, intended to sow division in European societies and undermine support for Ukraine.
[...]
The alleged disruption has a double purpose, James Appathurai, the NATO official responsible for the alliance’s response to such threats, told the AP.
One is to create “political disquiet” and undermine citizens’ support for their governments and the other is to “undercut support for Ukraine,” said Appathurai, deputy assistant secretary-general for Innovation, Hybrid, and Cyber.
[...]
The cases are varied, and the largest concentrations are in countries that are major supporters of Ukraine.
Some incidents had the potential for catastrophic consequences, including mass casualties, as when packages exploded at shipping facilities in Germany and the U.K. Western officials said they suspected the packages were part of a broader plot by Russian intelligence to put bombs on cargo planes headed to the U.S. and Canada.
[...]
European authorities are investigating several cases of damage to infrastructure under the Baltic Sea, including to a power cable linking Estonia and Finland. Finnish authorities detained a ship, suspected of being part of Russia’s “shadow fleet” used to avoid sanctions, after that cable and others were damaged.
When a fake French Defense Ministry website claimed citizens were being called up to fight in Ukraine, a French minister denounced it as Russian disinformation. German authorities suspect Russia was behind a campaign to block up scores of car tailpipes ahead of national elections, according to a European intelligence official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.
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Countries have always spied on their enemies and long waged propaganda campaigns to further their interests abroad. But since the invasion of Ukraine, Moscow has become “bolder,” hitting the West with sabotage, vandalism and arson in addition to the tactics it previously used, including killings and cyberattacks, said Elisabeth Braw, an expert on the attacks at the Atlantic Council in Washington.
“The way you can weaken a country today is not by invading it,” she said.
China has also been accused of espionage and cyber operations in Europe, and The Wall Street Journal reported that Ukrainian authorities were responsible for blowing up the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines in 2022. Kyiv has denied this.
“Multiple countries engage in hybrid operations,” said David Salvo, managing director of the Alliance for Securing Democracy at the German Marshall Fund. “Russia is the overwhelming culprit in Europe.”
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System shared this topic on
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Western officials have accused Russia and its proxies of staging dozens of attacks and other incidents across Europe since the invasion of Ukraine three years ago, according to data collected by The Associated Press.
They allege the disruption campaign is an extension of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war, intended to sow division in European societies and undermine support for Ukraine.
[...]
The alleged disruption has a double purpose, James Appathurai, the NATO official responsible for the alliance’s response to such threats, told the AP.
One is to create “political disquiet” and undermine citizens’ support for their governments and the other is to “undercut support for Ukraine,” said Appathurai, deputy assistant secretary-general for Innovation, Hybrid, and Cyber.
[...]
The cases are varied, and the largest concentrations are in countries that are major supporters of Ukraine.
Some incidents had the potential for catastrophic consequences, including mass casualties, as when packages exploded at shipping facilities in Germany and the U.K. Western officials said they suspected the packages were part of a broader plot by Russian intelligence to put bombs on cargo planes headed to the U.S. and Canada.
[...]
European authorities are investigating several cases of damage to infrastructure under the Baltic Sea, including to a power cable linking Estonia and Finland. Finnish authorities detained a ship, suspected of being part of Russia’s “shadow fleet” used to avoid sanctions, after that cable and others were damaged.
When a fake French Defense Ministry website claimed citizens were being called up to fight in Ukraine, a French minister denounced it as Russian disinformation. German authorities suspect Russia was behind a campaign to block up scores of car tailpipes ahead of national elections, according to a European intelligence official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.
[...]
Countries have always spied on their enemies and long waged propaganda campaigns to further their interests abroad. But since the invasion of Ukraine, Moscow has become “bolder,” hitting the West with sabotage, vandalism and arson in addition to the tactics it previously used, including killings and cyberattacks, said Elisabeth Braw, an expert on the attacks at the Atlantic Council in Washington.
“The way you can weaken a country today is not by invading it,” she said.
China has also been accused of espionage and cyber operations in Europe, and The Wall Street Journal reported that Ukrainian authorities were responsible for blowing up the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines in 2022. Kyiv has denied this.
“Multiple countries engage in hybrid operations,” said David Salvo, managing director of the Alliance for Securing Democracy at the German Marshall Fund. “Russia is the overwhelming culprit in Europe.”
[...]
I think Russia is part of a network of countries and corporations making the world directly a worse place to live in, spreading corruption and Chaos everywhere.
Eliminating it would be a major blow to corruption, and we finally have a clear target that takes to form of something we can legally attack!
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Western officials have accused Russia and its proxies of staging dozens of attacks and other incidents across Europe since the invasion of Ukraine three years ago, according to data collected by The Associated Press.
They allege the disruption campaign is an extension of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war, intended to sow division in European societies and undermine support for Ukraine.
[...]
The alleged disruption has a double purpose, James Appathurai, the NATO official responsible for the alliance’s response to such threats, told the AP.
One is to create “political disquiet” and undermine citizens’ support for their governments and the other is to “undercut support for Ukraine,” said Appathurai, deputy assistant secretary-general for Innovation, Hybrid, and Cyber.
[...]
The cases are varied, and the largest concentrations are in countries that are major supporters of Ukraine.
Some incidents had the potential for catastrophic consequences, including mass casualties, as when packages exploded at shipping facilities in Germany and the U.K. Western officials said they suspected the packages were part of a broader plot by Russian intelligence to put bombs on cargo planes headed to the U.S. and Canada.
[...]
European authorities are investigating several cases of damage to infrastructure under the Baltic Sea, including to a power cable linking Estonia and Finland. Finnish authorities detained a ship, suspected of being part of Russia’s “shadow fleet” used to avoid sanctions, after that cable and others were damaged.
When a fake French Defense Ministry website claimed citizens were being called up to fight in Ukraine, a French minister denounced it as Russian disinformation. German authorities suspect Russia was behind a campaign to block up scores of car tailpipes ahead of national elections, according to a European intelligence official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.
[...]
Countries have always spied on their enemies and long waged propaganda campaigns to further their interests abroad. But since the invasion of Ukraine, Moscow has become “bolder,” hitting the West with sabotage, vandalism and arson in addition to the tactics it previously used, including killings and cyberattacks, said Elisabeth Braw, an expert on the attacks at the Atlantic Council in Washington.
“The way you can weaken a country today is not by invading it,” she said.
China has also been accused of espionage and cyber operations in Europe, and The Wall Street Journal reported that Ukrainian authorities were responsible for blowing up the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines in 2022. Kyiv has denied this.
“Multiple countries engage in hybrid operations,” said David Salvo, managing director of the Alliance for Securing Democracy at the German Marshall Fund. “Russia is the overwhelming culprit in Europe.”
[...]
Russia has been doing indirect sabotage through global psyops campaigns since at least 2015. This is not surprising news. They are just taking the next step after the success of step one.
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Western officials have accused Russia and its proxies of staging dozens of attacks and other incidents across Europe since the invasion of Ukraine three years ago, according to data collected by The Associated Press.
They allege the disruption campaign is an extension of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war, intended to sow division in European societies and undermine support for Ukraine.
[...]
The alleged disruption has a double purpose, James Appathurai, the NATO official responsible for the alliance’s response to such threats, told the AP.
One is to create “political disquiet” and undermine citizens’ support for their governments and the other is to “undercut support for Ukraine,” said Appathurai, deputy assistant secretary-general for Innovation, Hybrid, and Cyber.
[...]
The cases are varied, and the largest concentrations are in countries that are major supporters of Ukraine.
Some incidents had the potential for catastrophic consequences, including mass casualties, as when packages exploded at shipping facilities in Germany and the U.K. Western officials said they suspected the packages were part of a broader plot by Russian intelligence to put bombs on cargo planes headed to the U.S. and Canada.
[...]
European authorities are investigating several cases of damage to infrastructure under the Baltic Sea, including to a power cable linking Estonia and Finland. Finnish authorities detained a ship, suspected of being part of Russia’s “shadow fleet” used to avoid sanctions, after that cable and others were damaged.
When a fake French Defense Ministry website claimed citizens were being called up to fight in Ukraine, a French minister denounced it as Russian disinformation. German authorities suspect Russia was behind a campaign to block up scores of car tailpipes ahead of national elections, according to a European intelligence official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.
[...]
Countries have always spied on their enemies and long waged propaganda campaigns to further their interests abroad. But since the invasion of Ukraine, Moscow has become “bolder,” hitting the West with sabotage, vandalism and arson in addition to the tactics it previously used, including killings and cyberattacks, said Elisabeth Braw, an expert on the attacks at the Atlantic Council in Washington.
“The way you can weaken a country today is not by invading it,” she said.
China has also been accused of espionage and cyber operations in Europe, and The Wall Street Journal reported that Ukrainian authorities were responsible for blowing up the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines in 2022. Kyiv has denied this.
“Multiple countries engage in hybrid operations,” said David Salvo, managing director of the Alliance for Securing Democracy at the German Marshall Fund. “Russia is the overwhelming culprit in Europe.”
[...]
Special cable operation, comrade.
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Western officials have accused Russia and its proxies of staging dozens of attacks and other incidents across Europe since the invasion of Ukraine three years ago, according to data collected by The Associated Press.
They allege the disruption campaign is an extension of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war, intended to sow division in European societies and undermine support for Ukraine.
[...]
The alleged disruption has a double purpose, James Appathurai, the NATO official responsible for the alliance’s response to such threats, told the AP.
One is to create “political disquiet” and undermine citizens’ support for their governments and the other is to “undercut support for Ukraine,” said Appathurai, deputy assistant secretary-general for Innovation, Hybrid, and Cyber.
[...]
The cases are varied, and the largest concentrations are in countries that are major supporters of Ukraine.
Some incidents had the potential for catastrophic consequences, including mass casualties, as when packages exploded at shipping facilities in Germany and the U.K. Western officials said they suspected the packages were part of a broader plot by Russian intelligence to put bombs on cargo planes headed to the U.S. and Canada.
[...]
European authorities are investigating several cases of damage to infrastructure under the Baltic Sea, including to a power cable linking Estonia and Finland. Finnish authorities detained a ship, suspected of being part of Russia’s “shadow fleet” used to avoid sanctions, after that cable and others were damaged.
When a fake French Defense Ministry website claimed citizens were being called up to fight in Ukraine, a French minister denounced it as Russian disinformation. German authorities suspect Russia was behind a campaign to block up scores of car tailpipes ahead of national elections, according to a European intelligence official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.
[...]
Countries have always spied on their enemies and long waged propaganda campaigns to further their interests abroad. But since the invasion of Ukraine, Moscow has become “bolder,” hitting the West with sabotage, vandalism and arson in addition to the tactics it previously used, including killings and cyberattacks, said Elisabeth Braw, an expert on the attacks at the Atlantic Council in Washington.
“The way you can weaken a country today is not by invading it,” she said.
China has also been accused of espionage and cyber operations in Europe, and The Wall Street Journal reported that Ukrainian authorities were responsible for blowing up the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines in 2022. Kyiv has denied this.
“Multiple countries engage in hybrid operations,” said David Salvo, managing director of the Alliance for Securing Democracy at the German Marshall Fund. “Russia is the overwhelming culprit in Europe.”
[...]
What I don't understand is how nothing is done about all this. It seems we're unwilling to cause a scene and so are just going to sit and stew in propaganda. We have freedom of speech - great! So putin can manipulate our media with no penalties and nothing to even inform people, no fact checkers. People are told that election interference is happening but with the same urgency as a celebrity's marriage or something.
Was democracy meant to stand up to this test, where a hostile state is trying everything to destroy it, most of the population are ignorant and happily consuming the lies of said hostile state while our government does nothing?
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What I don't understand is how nothing is done about all this. It seems we're unwilling to cause a scene and so are just going to sit and stew in propaganda. We have freedom of speech - great! So putin can manipulate our media with no penalties and nothing to even inform people, no fact checkers. People are told that election interference is happening but with the same urgency as a celebrity's marriage or something.
Was democracy meant to stand up to this test, where a hostile state is trying everything to destroy it, most of the population are ignorant and happily consuming the lies of said hostile state while our government does nothing?
Yeah I don’t get it. This has been happening for a long time now and our governments know it, and most of the people know it as well. But we just… watch and let them do it to us? It’s pathetic.
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I think Russia is part of a network of countries and corporations making the world directly a worse place to live in, spreading corruption and Chaos everywhere.
Eliminating it would be a major blow to corruption, and we finally have a clear target that takes to form of something we can legally attack!
Anne Applebaum has a book on this that’s well worth reading. Autocracy, Inc I think it’s called in English.
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What I don't understand is how nothing is done about all this. It seems we're unwilling to cause a scene and so are just going to sit and stew in propaganda. We have freedom of speech - great! So putin can manipulate our media with no penalties and nothing to even inform people, no fact checkers. People are told that election interference is happening but with the same urgency as a celebrity's marriage or something.
Was democracy meant to stand up to this test, where a hostile state is trying everything to destroy it, most of the population are ignorant and happily consuming the lies of said hostile state while our government does nothing?
What would you propose?
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What would you propose?
I'm not sure. I guess sharing information from an official source in a better way - more education. Bribing people to learn how to be skeptical. Telling people if a source of information is corrupted and why - showing them examples so they can understand how it's being done.
Maybe some kind of independent fact checking service for news. Making journalistic integrity obvious, maybe with a score, rating past articles, and then letting people know that other unrated sources are like the wild west and might be total bullshit.
I guess to try to assess everything on the internet is unrealistic but surely we can vet what advertising is being used on social media? Also what 'news' is shared there and where it's been sourced. The social media companies aren't short on cash and ought to be doing that anyway.
If we caught them at or, shut them down and call them out. Humiliate them.
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I'm not sure. I guess sharing information from an official source in a better way - more education. Bribing people to learn how to be skeptical. Telling people if a source of information is corrupted and why - showing them examples so they can understand how it's being done.
Maybe some kind of independent fact checking service for news. Making journalistic integrity obvious, maybe with a score, rating past articles, and then letting people know that other unrated sources are like the wild west and might be total bullshit.
I guess to try to assess everything on the internet is unrealistic but surely we can vet what advertising is being used on social media? Also what 'news' is shared there and where it's been sourced. The social media companies aren't short on cash and ought to be doing that anyway.
If we caught them at or, shut them down and call them out. Humiliate them.
Im with you on that, but as you I’m not exactly sure what to do.
Everyone knows it’s Russia, but we can’t officially admit it - because if we did, it would demand consequences. But either the consequences we propose would be toothless, and a capitulation before Russia. Or, the consequences would be so drastic that war would escalate. And Russia is the one with the nukes.
So, that leaves us in an awkward position where the only thing we can do is … counterintelligence?
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Im with you on that, but as you I’m not exactly sure what to do.
Everyone knows it’s Russia, but we can’t officially admit it - because if we did, it would demand consequences. But either the consequences we propose would be toothless, and a capitulation before Russia. Or, the consequences would be so drastic that war would escalate. And Russia is the one with the nukes.
So, that leaves us in an awkward position where the only thing we can do is … counterintelligence?
I agree but surely we can at least raise awareness and do something
Another idea is to educate kids at school. In England we learn about source bias particularly in history. We learn about propaganda etc, so I think we could include education on modern sources from news, vloggers and streamers, in a way which is relatable for kids.
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