Source: Fortune
Summary
Russia announced the closure of German cultural centers in response to Germany’s accusations of a drone attack on Leipzig/Halle Airport, which was linked to Ukraine’s war effort. Germany reciprocated by closing Russian consulates and cultural centers. Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed the accusations were a distraction from Germany’s domestic issues. European countries, including Poland, Denmark, and Finland, have increased security measures and summoned Russian diplomats. The EU is considering new strategies to counter hybrid warfare tactics, including using anti-terrorism procedures against Russian operatives.
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The announcement sounds familiar.
Russia closes German cultural centers in response to accusations of a drone attack.
Germany closes Russian consulates and cultural centers in retaliation.
European countries summon Russian diplomats and increase security measures.
The situation reflects a deepening cycle of retaliation and suspicion between Russia and the West.
Author: Evan Null
European countries seek to counter Russia’s threat
Following Germany’s claims, Poland, Denmark, Finland, the U.K., the Czech Republic, and Lithuania have summoned Russian diplomats stationed in their countries. In Norway, authorities seized a Russian vessel in the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard at the request of Ukraine’s state-owned Naftogaz energy group. A Norwegian court ordered the seizure as part of efforts by Naftogaz to recover a $4.22 billion arbitration award stemming from Russia’s 2014 illegal annexation of Crimea and its seizure of Ukrainian energy assets. Putin called it “state terrorism,” and Russia’s Foreign Ministry summoned Norway’s ambassador to Moscow to protest the seizure of the vessel, which it said belongs to the state weather and environmental monitoring agency.
It carried workers, scientists, and cargo to Russian settlements on one of the islands in Svalbard, the ministry said, adding that Moscow “will seek to lift the vessel’s arrest.” In Finland, more than 2,000 people took part in the biggest civil defense exercise in Europe since the end of World War II. Among the threats envisioned were missile strikes from neighboring Russia.
European countries are increasingly concerned about Russia’s hybrid warfare tactics, which include cyberattacks, disinformation, and sabotage. The EU has imposed multiple sanctions on Russia, targeting over 3,000 officials, oligarchs, and entities. A senior EU official suggested using anti-terrorism procedures to target individuals linked to Russian sabotage efforts. The EU Counter-Terrorism Coordinator, Bartjan Wegter, noted that the failed Leipzig drone attack was not new, as both Russia and Iran have used similar tactics before.
Russian Ambassador Vladimir Barbin dismissed Danish intelligence claims of imminent sabotage, stating that the comments were an acknowledgment of Denmark’s involvement in Ukraine. Italy’s Defense Minister Guido Crosetto called the German airport incident “a very serious act that could have very grave consequences,” but he said the threats are not discouraging Italy from helping Kyiv.
EU weighs how to respond further
EU ministers on Wednesday weighed how best to respond to the attempted drone attack but struggled to find new ways to meet the challenge without resorting to military means. The EU has slapped almost two dozen packages of sanctions on Russia over the war, targeting over 3,000 officials, oligarchs, and entities including banks, energy companies, and drone makers. One senior EU official said the bloc’s anti-terrorism procedures could be put to effective use.
“If we list individuals as terrorists, we can deploy a range of instruments to actually target those individuals and to track them, all their activities and people associated with those individuals,” EU Counter-Terrorism Coordinator Bartjan Wegter said. He told The Associated Press that EU methods for combating terrorist financing and money laundering, as well as boosting the resilience of infrastructure like airports, could be put to good use.
“It is a very worrying development,” Wegter said of the failed Leipzig drone attack. But he noted that “it is not new what we’re seeing.” Both Russia and Iran have used hybrid warfare methods before, he said. “They’re actually deploying terrorist tactics” that are meant to “destabilize our society,” Wegter added.
Denmark sounds alarm about Russian sabotage plans
Danish security services are warning that Russian acts of sabotage against the country’s defense industry may be imminent. Intelligence services have seen signs of specific planning by Russia to conduct sabotage operations in Denmark, Emil Græsholm, head of counterintelligence at the national security and intelligence service PET, told the Berlingske newspaper. The targets are primarily companies in the defense industry and especially those associated with delivering military components to Ukraine, he said.
Russian Ambassador Vladimir Barbin said PET has not presented any concrete evidence that Moscow was preparing sabotage acts in Denmark. He said Græsholm’s comments were actually an acknowledgment of Denmark’s involvement in Ukraine. The transformation of Danish territory into a production and logistics base for the Ukrainian military posed a security risk to Denmark, he added.
Italy’s Defense Minister Guido Crosetto told AP on Wednesday that the German airport incident was “a very serious act that could have very grave consequences.” But he said the threats aren’t discouraging Italy from further helping Kyiv as Rome weighs whether to send SAMP/T air defense batteries. As in other Western countries, limited weapons production capacity is hampering efforts to supply more to Ukraine, he said.
