A special unit of Russia’s military intelligence agency (GRU) is recruiting volunteers for sabotage operations within Europe through Telegram and Tik Tok, reported the independent Russian anti-corruption project Dossier Center.
Western intelligence officials have warned about the increasing Russian sabotage operations in Europe. According to the report, the unit is responsible for several acts of sabotage in the region, as reported by Kyiv Independent.
Earlier this year, the unit recruited a man from Latvia through Telegram, who threw a Molotov cocktail at a museum in Riga.
It appears that this GRU unit is also responsible for inciting acts of antisemitism, including an incident in 2023 when a group of Moldovan citizens painted the Star of David on buildings in Paris. The report states that the saboteurs were recruited through Tik Tok.
Furthermore, the report found evidence that the unit is working to organize anti-NATO protests in European cities under slogans such as "NATO is our common enemy."
The Federal Prosecutor's Office of Germany announced in April that two German-Russian citizens were arrested on suspicion of plotting explosive attacks in the country, including at American military bases.
In the last six months, Polish authorities have arrested 18 individuals suspected of engaging in hostile activities or sabotage in collaboration with Russia or Belarus, according to the Polish Ministry of Interior.
Several other suspects have been arrested in the past year in Germany, Austria, Denmark, Estonia, and other countries for allegedly spying for Russia or engaging in other forms of collaboration with Russian services.