“A way to sow confusion”: Russia accused of sending its spies to defecate on Finnish MPs

These are very mysterious revelations, in one of the northernmost countries on the planet. In Finland, more than twenty MPs have declared having suffered intrusions into their personal homes, reports The Telegraph. Some found lights on and doors mysteriously open without any memory of having left them that way. Another discovered a displaced kitchen baseboard and a dismantled wall outlet.

One of the deputies even found excrement that was not his in the toilet bowl, as revealed by the British daily. The information was confirmed a week ago by the President of the Finnish Parliament Jussi Halla-aho. According to Finnish television YLE, the various home invasions took place over a year. The involvement of a foreign power is mentioned.

A hypothesis that Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo does not rule out. “It’s very possible,” he declared to Finnish media. “If this is the case, my message remains the same as before: for us, these maneuvers have the opposite effect to that expected. If someone tries to destabilize Finland or our support, for example, for Ukraine, it will have the opposite effect,” said Petteri Orpo.

The deputy of the center-right party in power Ben Zyskowicz goes further by questioning a plot fomented by spies mandated by Moscow to intimidate Finnish representatives. “It’s a way for the Russian intelligence services to show that people are being monitored, a way to sow confusion or concern,” said Ben Zyskowicz. If the Russian lead is confirmed, these intrusions would be part of the hybrid war that Moscow has been waging for several months against the West.

The technique is not new. It dates from the Cold War when KGB agents entered the homes of their opponents in order to psychologically disturb them by turning on a light or moving an object. These “home intrusions” are once again favored by Moscow, as indicated by American diplomats in 2014. The Wall Street Journal reveals, in an investigation published in 2023, that an agent of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) had defecated in the suitcase of a senior American official during a visit to Russia.

Such a series of intrusions is unprecedented in Finland, a NATO member since 2023. It could be explained by Helsinki's support for kyiv since the start of the war in Ukraine. Asked about the issue, President Alexander Stubb recalled the seriousness of the situation. “An attack on a member of Parliament is an attack on democracy. This should not be allowed or accepted in any form. I support every member of Parliament,” recalled the Head of State. The Finnish authorities have announced the opening of a preliminary investigation to shed light on these actions.