Latest news with #HybridWarfare
Yahoo
02-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Russia recruiting Ukrainians for illegal activities in Europe, Ukrainian intel warns
Russian intelligence services are actively attempting to recruit Ukrainian nationals for illegal operations across the European Union, Ukraine's military intelligence agency (HUR) said on June 2. In a statement, the agency warned that Kremlin-linked operatives are offering money to vulnerable Ukrainians, particularly those from Russian-occupied territories, to conduct surveillance of critical infrastructure and carry out other tasks for the benefit of the Russian state. "The recruitment of Ukrainians for hostile operations in Europe is yet another tool of hybrid aggression that the Russian Federation is waging against Ukraine and the entire European community," the agency said. The intelligence agency urged Ukrainian citizens abroad to immediately report any contact with suspicious individuals to local law enforcement or Ukrainian diplomatic missions. The warning comes amid a growing number of suspected Russian-directed sabotage and arson plots across Europe involving Ukrainian nationals. British security officials are currently investigating possible Russian involvement in a series of arson attacks targeting properties linked to U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, the Financial Times reported on May 23. The incidents include fires at Starmer's family home, a vehicle, and a former residence in London earlier this month. Three men — Ukrainian nationals Roman Lavrynovych and Petro Pochynok, and Romanian Stanislav Carpiuc — have been charged with conspiracy to commit arson with intent to endanger life. Prosecutors allege they acted in coordination with unknown individuals, and U.K. authorities are examining whether Russian agents may have recruited them. German authorities have also accused three Ukrainian nationals of being involved in a Russian-orchestrated parcel bomb plot, according to Der Spiegel. The suspects were arrested in May during coordinated raids in Germany and Switzerland. In a separate case on May 12, Poland charged two Ukrainians in connection with suspected Russian-backed arson attacks at an IKEA store in Vilnius and a shopping mall in Warsaw in 2024. Additionally, Russian intelligence is believed to be behind a July 2024 fire at a DHL airport logistics hub in Leipzig, Germany. Investigators said a flammable package sent from Lithuania was marked for delivery to a fake address in Birmingham, U.K. Western officials have repeatedly accused Moscow of using covert sabotage, cyberattacks, and disinformation as part of its broader campaign to destabilize European nations that support Ukraine during the Russian large-scale war. The Ukrainian intelligence agency emphasized that such operations rely on exploiting desperate individuals and weaponizing them against host countries. It called on European governments to remain vigilant and closely coordinate with Ukrainian security services. Read also: As Trump fails to sanction Moscow, few expect breakthrough during upcoming Russia-Ukraine talks We've been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
BBC News
12-05-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Poland PM Donald Tusk accuses Russia of Warsaw shopping centre fire
Poland has accused Russian intelligence services of orchestrating a massive fire that nearly completely destroyed a shopping centre in the capital Warsaw last year. In a post on X, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Poland knows "for sure" that the blaze at the Marywilska shopping centre was caused by arson ordered by the Russian special of those responsible are already in custody, Tusk added, while all the others alleged to have been involved have been identified and are being searched for. Moscow has not commented on the allegations, but has previously denied accusations of sabotage in Europe. The fire in May 2024 destroyed 1,400 small businesses, with many of the staff there being members of Warsaw's Vietnamese community. Poland carried out a year-long investigation into the incident, which has now concluded the fire was organised by an unnamed person in Russia. A joint statement by Poland's justice and interior ministers said the actions of those in custody were "organised and directed by a specific person residing in the Russian Federation." The two ministries added that they were co-operating with Lithuania "where some of the perpetrators also carried out acts of diversion".Since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Poland has detained and convicted several people accused of sabotage on behalf of Russian intelligence services. Polish officials have said that these attacks have been part of a "hybrid war" waged by Moscow. Hybrid warfare is when a hostile state carries out an anonymous, deniable attack, usually in highly suspicious circumstances. It will be enough to harm their opponent, especially their infrastructure assets, but stop short of being an attributable act of also believes Russia is waging "hybrid warfare" in Europe, with the aim of punishing or deterring Western nations from continuing their military support for has denied repeated allegations by Nato countries that its secret services are engaged in sabotage operations across Europe. Back in March, Lithuanian prosecutors accused Russia's military intelligence service of being behind an arson attack on a branch of Ikea in the capital Vilnius last the time, Tusk said Lithuania had confirmed Warsaw's "suspicions that [those] responsible for setting fires to shopping centres in Vilnius and Warsaw are the Russian secret services."Two Ukrainian suspects were arrested. The Marywilska shopping centre opened in 2010 and in the fire many workers lost important documents and large sums of cash which were kept at the shopping centre due to fear of breaks ins at months after the fire, a temporary shopping centre was opened by Marywilska's owners, where approximately 400 traders resumed operations. An alternative shopping centre in Warsaw, Modlinska 6D, was opened in October 2024 with traders relocating their businesses to the new site.
