Russian intelligence companies are actively trying to recruit Ukrainian nationals for unlawful operations throughout the European Union, Ukraine's army intelligence company (HUR) stated on June 2.
In a press release, the company warned that Kremlin-linked operatives are providing cash to weak Ukrainians, significantly these from Russian-occupied territories, to conduct surveillance of vital infrastructure and perform different duties for the advantage of the Russian state.
"The recruitment of Ukrainians for hostile operations in Europe is yet one more device of hybrid aggression that the Russian Federation is waging towards Ukraine and your complete European group," the company stated.
The intelligence company urged Ukrainian residents overseas to right away report any contact with suspicious people to native legislation enforcement or Ukrainian diplomatic missions.
The warning comes amid a rising variety of suspected Russian-directed sabotage and arson plots throughout Europe involving Ukrainian nationals.
British safety officers are at the moment investigating doable Russian involvement in a sequence of arson assaults concentrating on properties linked to U.Okay. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, the Monetary Occasions reported on Could 23. The incidents embrace fires at Starmer's household residence, a car, and a former residence in London earlier this month.
Three males — Ukrainian nationals Roman Lavrynovych and Petro Pochynok, and Romanian Stanislav Carpiuc — have been charged with conspiracy to commit arson with intent to hazard life. Prosecutors allege they acted in coordination with unknown people, and U.Okay. authorities are inspecting whether or not Russian brokers might have recruited them.
German authorities have additionally accused three Ukrainian nationals of being concerned in a Russian-orchestrated parcel bomb plot, in keeping with Der Spiegel. The suspects had been arrested in Could throughout coordinated raids in Germany and Switzerland.
In a separate case on Could 12, Poland charged two Ukrainians in reference to suspected Russian-backed arson assaults at an IKEA retailer in Vilnius and a shopping center in Warsaw in 2024.
Moreover, Russian intelligence is believed to be behind a July 2024 hearth at a DHL airport logistics hub in Leipzig, Germany. Investigators stated a flammable package deal despatched from Lithuania was marked for supply to a pretend tackle in Birmingham, U.Okay.
Western officers have repeatedly accused Moscow of utilizing covert sabotage, cyberattacks, and disinformation as a part of its broader marketing campaign to destabilize European nations that assist Ukraine throughout the Russian large-scale warfare.
The Ukrainian intelligence company emphasised that such operations depend on exploiting determined people and weaponizing them towards host nations. It referred to as on European governments to stay vigilant and intently coordinate with Ukrainian safety companies.
The Kyiv IndependentOleg Sukhov