Russia has been blamed for attacks across Europe through hybrid campaigns.
New Delhi: US and European officials believe that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s security agencies are curbing the ongoing hybrid warfare campaign in Europe. According to a Bloomberg report, officials say that there has been a decrease in suspected Russian-backed sabotage incidents this year. Russia has been blamed for attacks across Europe through hybrid campaigns. According to officials, Russian intelligence agents pay proxies to target civilian infrastructure and individuals for these operations.
What is the main reason?
Officials told Bloomberg on the condition of anonymity that there are several reasons for the decrease in these operations. The main reason is that Moscow is tightening its grip on attacks assigned to untrusted local criminals. Some of these had gone out of control and were posing a risk of a major misunderstanding.
How many hybrid incidents reported from Europe this year?
According to a report by the International Institute for Strategic Studies think tank, there were 11 suspected Russian-backed hybrid incidents in Europe between January and May this year. This also includes an attempt to sabotage fibre-optic cables and cell towers in Sweden. The report said that President Putin is seen accusing the USA and Europe of uncontrolled hybrid war against Russia.
What is the situation in the Russia-Ukraine war?
Meanwhile, the war between Russia and Ukraine has intensified. The Russian Defence Ministry said on Saturday, 2 August, that the Russian air defence system destroyed and shot down 41 drones of Ukraine in less than four hours. These drones were seen in many areas of Russia between 8 pm and 11:25 pm (Moscow time) on Saturday and were shot down with a prompt response.
According to the Defence Ministry, all the drones were identified and destroyed by Russia’s air defence system in time. No major damage has been reported in these attacks, but Russia has expressed serious concern about the attacks on civilians in the recent Ukrainian attacks.
What did Russia accuse Ukraine of?
On Thursday, 31 August, Russia accused Ukraine of targeting civilians. According to Russia, seven people have been killed and more than 120 injured in shelling and drone attacks over the past week, including 11 children. On July 16, a woman was killed in the village of Smorodino when an enemy drone attacked her home, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.
