Financial Times: "Russians threaten executives of European defense companies"

According to the US newspaper, intelligence from five different European countries said that the Kremlin has ordered an expansion of sabotage and hybrid operations in Europe, intensifying attempts to assassinate executives of companies in the sector with the aim of weakening support for Kiev

European intelligence services have warned executives of defense companies across Europe that Russia is stepping up attempts to assassinate them in a bid to intimidate Ukraine's partners, the Financial Times reports. Representatives of five different European intelligence services said the Kremlin has ordered an expansion of sabotage and hybrid operations in Europe to significantly weaken support for Kiev in the coming months.

Managers and senior officials in the crosshairs

The killing of European civilians, once considered taboo even by Russian intelligence, is becoming an increasingly important component of these plans, intelligence officials say. According to the warning, Kremlin agents may target executives and other senior officials of defense companies. Executives at smaller companies are also at risk, particularly those involved in the production of drones or their components. A representative of Germany's Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) said the agency had significantly stepped up its engagement with employees and managers of German defense companies, recommending them, among other things, to hire private close protection teams.

The secret service alarm

"Russia is engaged in the deliberate planning of acts of violence against individuals by state or state-controlled actors. We are observing a further development of these actions in terms of objectives, methods and actors involved, including the use of organized crime structures," Sinan Selen, head of the Organized Crime Counteracting Service (BfV), told German parliamentarians. Several defense company executives told the Financial Times they had strengthened their personal security measures over the past six months, on the advice of government security services. Others said they only took such measures when traveling abroad.

The GRU is behind most of the plans

Responsibility for any assassination attempts is largely placed on the GRU, Russia's military intelligence agency. According to intelligence sources, Russian officers are increasingly collaborating with organized crime groups, using cross-border agent networks and splitting intelligence gathering, logistics, planning and execution between different cells or individuals, rather than relying on "disposable" agents recruited online in exchange for money. In some cases, ongoing plots have already been discovered and foiled. In others, suspicious activities were observed, including surveillance of individuals' daily lives at home and work. "From the Russian point of view, the main objective remains the psychological one. Just by making people feel that they can be a target, they achieve their effect. They want individuals to think twice before doing business with Ukraine," an intelligence official said.