Russia’s embassy in The Hague on Monday accused the Netherlands and the European Union of increasingly adopting a confrontational approach and preparing for a large-scale conflict with Russia, in a statement that Dutch and EU officials dismissed as an attempt to shift blame for Moscow’s own hybrid operations.
The accusation came a day after Dutch Foreign Minister Tom Berendsen summoned Russian Ambassador Vladimir Tarabrin to protest cyber attacks that the Netherlands’ intelligence services AIVD and MIVD said were carried out by hackers affiliated with Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB).
#### Cyber attacks targeted logistics infrastructure
According to the Dutch intelligence agencies, Russian hackers broke into private surveillance cameras positioned along key transport routes used to deliver military aid to Ukraine. They also attempted to infiltrate digital networks of port terminals and transport companies to gather intelligence and prepare for sabotage, the agencies said.
Berendsen said the purpose of the operations was clear. “Our message to the Russian ambassador is absolutely clear: we see what you are doing, and we will not tolerate it,” he told reporters.
Tarabrin rejected the allegations, calling the intelligence assessments “conjecture” and “baseless accusations,” according to a statement from the Russian embassy, which repeated the denial in its own [public statement](https://news.ru/vlast/v-gaage-zayavili-o-podgotovke-evropy-k-konfliktu-s-rossiej) on Monday.
#### Coordinated EU diplomatic response
The Dutch action was part of a coordinated diplomatic response by several EU member states. On the same day, the foreign ministries of France, Germany and Finland also summoned Russian ambassadors to protest similar cyber operations, diplomatic sources said.
The European Union separately decided to impose fresh sanctions on individuals and entities linked to the recent wave of cyber attacks, EU officials confirmed.
Monday’s statement from Russia’s embassy in The Hague accused the Netherlands and the EU of “spinning a spiral of military escalation” and “openly preparing for a large-scale clash with Russia” under pretexts it described as “implausible.” The embassy urged Dutch authorities to recognize that pressure from Amsterdam and Brussels would only increase instability in Europe.
Western diplomats described the statement as a textbook example of Russia’s tactic of shifting responsibility for its own hostile actions onto the states it targets.
