European intelligence agencies are warning that Russia is on course for more acts of sabotage in the EU. Among a wide range of possible targets is also rail infrastructure. Earlier derailments in Sweden may have been such acts of sabotage.
Intelligence officials believe that Russia has stepped up its preparations for bombings, arson and infrastructure attacks on European soil, according to the Financial Times. Russia could stage direct attacks, but also use proxies to carry them out. Safeguarding of civilian life is reportedly not high on Russia’s priority list.
The Kremlin has a history of such operations, but they have become more aggressive and coordinated in recent times. It has prompted intelligence officials to become more vocal about the looming threat to European security.
Increased risk
“We assess the risk of state-controlled acts of sabotage to be significantly increased. Russia now seems comfortable carrying out operations on European soil with a high potential for damage”, according to Germany’s head of domestic intelligence Thomas Haldenwang.
One official told the Financial Times that Putin is currently feeling “emboldened” and will seek to push lines as hard as he can in Europe on multiple fronts, including rail sabotage.
Sweden derailments
Recent events in Sweden have sparked suspicions of subversive activities against its rail infrastructure. Last year, Sweden’s crucial Iron Ore Line was shaken up by a derailment, damaging 15 kilometres of the route. When the line was opened again on 20 February, it faced another derailment within days. This greatly affected Europe’s largest mining company, LKAB, which could no longer transport its mining products.
A representative of the Swedish security service Säpo declined to comment directly on the possibility of Russian sabotage. However, he told SvD: “What I can confirm is that Russia is the largest single threat to Sweden. We’ve said that for a while. What we can see is more aggressive, risky behaviour from Russia in their illegal actions and spying in Sweden.” When it opened an investigation into the derailments, the Swedish police classified it as a case of sabotage.
Further sabotage
Likewise, Czechia earlier reported that Russia had been attempting to destroy signalling systems in the country. The EU Agency for Cybersecurity also published a report in March 2023, pointing out that pro-Russian hacker groups had launched major cyber attacks against the Baltic rail sector.
There is a lot of suspicion surrounding Russian sabotage beyond rail infrastructure as well. A Welsh munitions factory and a German arms production facility went up in flames recently. Both were involved in supplying Ukraine with means to defend itself. An explosion at a Czech arms depot in 2014 was confirmed to have been staged by Russian agents.
Keir Giles, senior consultant at think-tank Chatham House, told the Financial Times: “These pinprick attacks we’ve seen so far are of course to create disruption, but they can also be used for disinformation. And then there is what Russia learns from these attacks if they want to immobilise Europe for real. They’re practice runs.”
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