U.S. intelligence officials and NATO allies are monitoring the increase in the number of low-level sabotage operations in Europe, which are part of a Russian campaign to undermine support for Ukraine. Source: NYT

3 comments

1. From article & more to read:

   Oleksandr Danylyuk, head of the Center for Defense Reforms, coordinator of the interdepartmental platform for combating hybrid threats, which carries out its activities within the framework of NATO-Ukraine cooperation, said that this activity is a serious threat, and it continues to develop, pointing to the fact that [**Russia is in a state of war with the West**](https://ghall.com.ua/2024/05/13/nbc-rossiya-provodit-diversionnuyu-kampaniyu-po-vsej-evrope/).

2. I always hear about these sabotage operations but hardly ever see anything about a specific instance.

3. I doubt that Russian sabotage is about undermining support for Ukraine. I believe that Putin wants to draw NATO into the conflict fully. That would mean Russia could bring all it’s assets around the world to bear and he could make good on those threats he’s been making, to strike the UK and such. Xi is also itching for a war to get at Taiwan. There is also the Hungarian Trojan Horse to muck up the works as well. Not guaranteed to be the setup, but quite plausible.

   On the flip-side of that, Putin also knows that he can get away with a lot since NATO will not respond to small provocations. He benefits from distraction and chaos, and would know that support for Ukraine is pretty galvanized and the better play is simply the stochastic provocation to see what he can roll at least a 12 for damage. Events like these are going to be a setup for something bigger.

   With either scenario, Putin’s goal is Ukraine, no matter how much of Russia is destroyed. And that goal of Ukraine is either possession or destruction. All of Russia could be on fire and the Kremlin destroyed, but if Putin managed to conquer Ukraine then Russians would consider it a victory.