Latest news with #hybridwarfare
Telegraph
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Could a hostile state have set fire to the PM's house?
Of all the possible culprits for the suspected arson attack on Sir Keir Starmer's private home, the least likely perpetrator is a hostile state. Russia is targeting Britain and every other European member of Nato in a 'grey zone' or 'hybrid' campaign, encompassing actions short of armed conflict. This generally includes disinformation operations and physical sabotage, particularly against any infrastructure linked to Ukraine. Last year, arsonists burned down a warehouse in London belonging to a Ukrainian business. Two British men admitted to being part of this group; one has pleaded guilty to taking money from a foreign intelligence service. But Russia's 'grey zone' campaign is not known to have included any attacks on individuals in Britain, at least not since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. So far Russian intelligence appears to have stuck to sabotage and disinformation without climbing any further up the escalatory ladder. The higher rungs might in theory include targeting high-profile individuals. But firebombing a property linked to the Prime Minister would amount to leaping to the top of the escalatory ladder, skipping every rung in between, making it unlikely that Russia or any other hostile state would have been involved. In the past, of course, Russian intelligence has targeted individuals in Britain, murdering Alexander Litvinenko in London in 2006 and trying to kill Sergei Skripal in Salisbury in 2018. The latter incident claimed the life of Dawn Sturgess, a British mother-of-three, who happened to come into contact with the Novichok nerve agent used against Skripal. But Russia considered both Skripal and Litvinenko to be its own citizens who had betrayed their country by working for British intelligence. Trying to kill them would have been seen in Moscow as justified retribution rather than action against the British state itself. The same applies to Iranian intelligence, which has also targeted individuals in Britain. But in every known case, these were Iranian dissidents or Iranian journalists critical of the regime. There is no public example of the Iranian state singling out a British politician, let alone one so senior as the Prime Minister. Identifying two homes and one car linked to Sir Keir would have required planning and sophistication, but this would still have been possible for a well-motivated individual or group. So while it is not impossible that a foreign state is involved, the finger of suspicion at least initially will probably point towards radical campaigners or activists.
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Poland accuses Russia of arson over 2024 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 services. Some 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 war. Nato also believes Russia is waging "hybrid warfare" in Europe, with the aim of punishing or deterring Western nations from continuing their military support for Ukraine. Russia 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 year. At 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. Explosions, cyber attacks... welcome to hybrid warfare Putin's secret weapon: The threat to the UK lurking on our sea beds 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 home. Three 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.
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Poland accuses Russia of arson over 2024 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 services. Some 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 war. Nato also believes Russia is waging "hybrid warfare" in Europe, with the aim of punishing or deterring Western nations from continuing their military support for Ukraine. Russia 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 year. At 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. Explosions, cyber attacks... welcome to hybrid warfare Putin's secret weapon: The threat to the UK lurking on our sea beds 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 home. Three 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.
