Russian espionage, sabotage in Europe now ‘more likely,’ Norwegian intel chief warns

Norway’s spy boss sounded the alarm about Russian sabotage in Europe on Tuesday, saying the Kremlin is becoming bolder in its hybrid warfare campaign.

“The risk level has changed,” Vice Admiral Nils Andreas Stensønes, who is head of the Norwegian Intelligence Service, told Reuters.

“We believe sabotage is more likely, and we see acts of sabotage happening in Europe now which indicate that they have moved a bit on that scale,” Stensønes added, referring to Moscow.

Western intelligence agencies have increasingly warned of the threat of Russian espionage since the Kremlin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in early 2022. According to reports, Russian saboteurs allegedly set fire to a large factory in Berlin belonging to a defense manufacturer in May in an effort to disrupt arms shipments to Kyiv.

NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg slammed “the Russian campaign of hostile activities against NATO allies” in June, shortly before it emerged that U.S. and German intelligence agencies foiled a Russian assassination plot against the CEO of German defense manufacturer Rheinmetall.

The Kremlin has long denied accusations it is behind such acts of espionage.