As Russia fails to gain ground in the war in Ukraine, President Vladimir V. Putin appears to be pursuing a wider conflict in Europe, increasingly targeting critical infrastructure and supply chains, one of Britain\u2019s highest-ranking intelligence officials said in prepared remarks.<\/p>\n
\u201cRussia is scaling up its daily hybrid activity against the U.K. and Europe,\u201d said Anne Keast-Butler, director of GCHQ, the British electronic surveillance agency, which has been countering what she called the Kremlin\u2019s \u201creckless sabotage and assassination attempts.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ms. Keast-Butler\u2019s remarks are part of an annual speech she is planning to make Wednesday afternoon at Bletchley Park, where Britain\u2019s code breakers once deciphered enemy signals during World War II. Now, intelligence workers sit in hubs across the U.K., gathering electronic intercepts and trying to stay one step ahead of adversaries demonstrating \u201cincreasingly brazen behavior,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Her comments come at a volatile time in the world as the war in Ukraine is in its fifth year, conflict in the Middle East destabilizes the global economy and President Trump continuously rattles the NATO military alliance \u2014 a central check on Mr. Putin\u2019s aggression.<\/p>\n
She said that her agency is focused on thwarting the Russian threat and, in particular, the hybrid threats that Mr. Putin has relied upon to terrorize Europe with the goal of dividing NATO and sowing discord in the West. Hybrid tactics have included cyberattacks, sabotage, assassination and disinformation campaigns that are meant to destabilize countries\u2019 economies and institutions.<\/p>\n
Among the aggressions that European officials have blamed on Russia are a swarm of drones<\/a> and explosives placed on a rail line<\/a> in Poland; jamming aviation-navigation systems<\/a> over Sweden; hacking a dam<\/a> in Norway; and plotting to put incendiary devices<\/a> on cargo planes. Lithuanian officials recently announced the arrests of nine people accused of plotting murders and sabotage across Europe at the behest of Russia\u2019s military intelligence service, the G.R.U.<\/p>\n So far, Mr. Putin\u2019s efforts to fragment the West have failed to make a breakthrough, with European countries spending more on defense and bolstering cooperation with one another.<\/p>\n \u201cAs we remain steadfast in our support for Ukraine, Putin is going backwards on the battlefield,\u201d Ms. Keast-Butler said in her remarks.<\/p>\n On Wednesday, Britain was set to announce a new defense and security treaty with Poland in the face of increasing hostile threats across Europe. Prime Minister Donald Tusk of Poland planned to travel to London for the signing.<\/p>\n \u201cThis treaty is the biggest step forward in our defense and security relationship with Poland in a generation, allowing us to confront modern security threats that may be less visible but no less dangerous, and our collective work together will keep our countries safe for years to come,\u201d Prime Minister Keir Starmer of Britain said in a statement.<\/p>\n Intelligence officials across Europe are deeply concerned about Mr. Putin\u2019s aggression and his refusal to end the war in Ukraine, despite the enormous casualties his army has suffered. Many of the officials believe that the war in Ukraine does not reflect the end of Mr. Putin\u2019s ambitions, and that he will one day threaten continental Europe. The Russian leader has compared himself to Peter the Great, the Russian czar who greatly expanded the empire.<\/p>\n In December, Blaise Metreweli, chief of MI-6, Britain\u2019s external spy service, echoed similar warnings about Russia. Ms. Metreweli\u2019s organization specializes in recruiting agents while GCHQ handles signals intelligence.<\/p>\n \u201cWe all continue to face the menace of an aggressive, expansionist and revisionist Russia, seeking to subjugate Ukraine and harass NATO,\u201d Ms. Metreweli said, adding that Russia was \u201ctesting us in the gray zone with tactics that are just below the threshold of war.\u201d<\/p>\n