Intelligence report reveals Russian tactics
A confidential response by the German interior ministry to a parliamentary inquiry from the Green party, obtained by Spiegel, outlines how Moscow increasingly relies on organised crime – particularly networks described as ‘Russian-Eurasian organised crime’ (REOK) – to carry out sabotage and targeted killings across Europe and inside Germany. According to the document, Russian state bodies tolerate the activities of these criminal groups in exchange for their willingness to cooperate with security and intelligence services when needed.
Criminal groups as deniable assets
The arrangement gives the Kremlin a formal layer of deniability, allowing it to shift responsibility onto criminal structures while maintaining operational control. The interior ministry’s findings indicate that since 2023-2024, Russia has also stepped up its use of so-called ‘disposable agents’ – low-level operatives recruited online with no professional training. These recruits often lack full knowledge of the operation, making it harder for European agencies to detect threats at an early stage.
A wave of hybrid attacks across Europe
Since the start of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russia has intensified hybrid warfare across Europe. According to European intelligence services and analytical centres, 151 acts of sabotage, arson, attempted bombings and other hybrid attacks with proven Russian involvement were recorded between February 2022 and February 2026. Notable incidents include the 2024 arson of a London warehouse linked to Ukraine aid, the detention of a sabotage group in Wroclaw and Gdansk planning attacks on shopping centres and factories, and the delivery of incendiary devices that ignited in DHL logistics hubs in Leipzig and Birmingham. These were part of a broader plot to test arson mechanisms aboard cargo or passenger aircraft bound for the United States and Canada.
‘Disposable agents’ complicate countermeasures
The increasing use of untrained, internet-recruited operatives creates risks of uncontrolled escalation. Such agents may act in unpredictable ways, raising the likelihood of accidental casualties or large-scale incidents even when a ‘limited’ sabotage was originally intended. The German government assessment warns that this new model of hybrid warfare – where the state delegates dirty work to criminal groups – poses a direct threat to national security in Germany and other European countries.
Call for stronger counterintelligence powers
Experts and lawmakers argue that Berlin must expand the authority of its domestic intelligence service, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV), to combat organised crime linked to Moscow. Traditional deterrence mechanisms have proven ill-suited to counter Russia’s grey-zone attacks, which remain below the threshold of open military conflict. Without updated legal tools, European societies risk facing an atmosphere of fear and erosion of trust in state institutions, potentially weakening support for Ukraine and strengthening political forces advocating appeasement.
