Russia’s sabotage efforts across Europe have skyrocketed over the last two years. According to a new report published by the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), Moscow’s use of unconventional warfare methods against Ukraine and NATO member states has become a priority and is aimed at destabilizing European governments. Targeting critical infrastructure like energy, transport, military, and even undersea assets has become Russia’s go-to war strategy. As these types of attacks are difficult to pinpoint and prevent, European nations are struggling to enact a unified response or coordinate action to deter further offenses.
In a comprehensive open-source database shared by IISS(opens pdf), a clear pattern depicting Moscow’s critical infrastructure targeting efforts is highlighted. As stated in the report, “The cumulative impact of Russian attacks on physical targets, on virtual targets and via informational operations has been to undermine Western resilience and divide European societies. The effect has also been to lower the threshold for future escalation and increase the risk of strategic miscalculation on both sides.” While the bulk of Russia’s barrages have targeted assets in Ukraine or are connected to European efforts to supply Kyiv, an overall uptick in this kind of sabotage across the continent is concerning.
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Moscow’s unconventional war tactics have extended beyond Ukraine over the last few years. Particularly, Russia’s sabotage of undersea cables has sparked concern across the hemisphere since 2022. Critical undersea communications infrastructure serves as the backbone for digital communication and trade throughout the globe and plays a key role in modern society. In fact, more than $10 trillion in daily worldwide financial transactions is facilitated by such cables, making this kind of sabotage disruptive to the global economy. Baltic Sea sabotage continues to skyrocket. Telecom, gas, and power links connecting European countries like Finland, Sweden, Latvia, Germany, and Estonia are being targeted.
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Cross-border attacks targeting critical infrastructure above ground have also skyrocketed. In July, three men were convicted by a British court for setting fire to a London warehouse connected to Ukraine-bound military equipment. According to prosecutors in this case, operatives linked to the Russian mercenary company Wagner were behind the brazen attack.
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