English Section

Russia steps up information warfare to unsettle Europe, analysts say

09.10.2025 08:50
Russia is escalating psychological and information operations to unsettle Europe and curb support for Ukraine, using false-flag claims and hybrid tactics, according to Polish analyst Marek Wrzosek and the Institute for the Study of War.
Russias foreign intelligence service has alleged Britain, with NATO partners, is preparing an attack on a Ukrainian navy ship or a foreign civilian vessel in a European port, intending to blame Moscow to justify more aid for Kyiv and faster rearmament.
Russia’s foreign intelligence service has alleged Britain, “with NATO partners,” is preparing an attack on a Ukrainian navy ship or a foreign civilian vessel in a European port, intending to blame Moscow to justify more aid for Kyiv and faster rearmament.Photo: EPA/MIKHAIL METZEL/SPUTNIK/KREMLIN POOL

Wrzosek called recent messaging classic “maskirovka” — staged acts to capture attention — and said Moscow is exploiting political shifts across Europe.

Russia’s foreign intelligence service has alleged Britain, “with NATO partners,” is preparing an attack on a Ukrainian navy ship or a foreign civilian vessel in a European port, intending to blame Moscow to justify more aid for Kyiv and faster rearmament.

ISW said the service’s frequent statements mark “a new pattern,” citing since Sept. 9 drone incursions into Polish and Romanian airspace, a Russian jet’s violation of Estonia’s airspace, unidentified drones over Danish, German and Norwegian airports — including on Oct. 5 in Norway — and GPS jamming targeting a plane carrying Spain’s defense minister.

The aim, ISW said, is to create a constant sense of danger and dampen European appetite for defense spending. At home, repeated accusations of Western false-flag plots help shift blame and prepare public backing “for a possible future Russian aggression against NATO.”

Wrzosek warned sabotage that disrupts daily life — cyberattacks on banks, grounded flights, halted trains — can intimidate broad populations. He said Russia could also conduct deniable operations, as in Crimea, and try to pin sabotage or even terrorist acts on states aiding Ukraine.

He added that attacks are possible “even in Poland,” and that Moscow is timing hybrid operations to Europe’s political shake-ups while feeding anti-Ukraine narratives with claims of Ukrainian and British provocations.

(jh)

Source: PAP