Islam Times – Denmark’s Security and Intelligence Service [PET] has warned that Russian intelligence agencies are actively preparing potential sabotage operations against companies in the country’s defense industry, public broadcaster DR reported Wednesday.Emil Graesholm, PET’s head of counterintelligence, said authorities have identified specific Russian plans targeting Danish companies, particularly firms involved in supplying military assistance to Ukraine.
“This is not simply a warning that it might happen in Denmark at some point,” Graesholm told Danish newspaper Berlingske. “We are already seeing the planning now. Very concretely.”
PET said it has also identified efforts by Russian intelligence services to recruit ordinary Danish citizens through social media and other online platforms.
According to the intelligence agency, some recruits could be instructed to carry out activities such as photographing companies, facilities or other sites that could potentially be used to plan sabotage operations.
Graesholm described the possibility of Danish citizens assisting Russian intelligence, whether knowingly or unknowingly, as extremely serious.
PET said it is coordinating with Denmark’s Defense Intelligence Service and the Danish Agency for Social Security and Preparedness. Police districts are also being regularly briefed on the latest assessment of the threat.
Authorities have already informed selected defense companies and industry organizations about the potential risks and provided guidance on strengthening security measures.
Graesholm said PET decided to issue a public warning because investigators consider the alleged Russian preparations sufficiently specific and advanced to warrant wider attention.
The Confederation of Danish Industry said it was taking the assessment seriously and maintaining close contact with relevant authorities. Rasmus Anderskouv, the organization’s head of security and preparedness, said the changing threat environment requires companies to increase vigilance while maintaining a calm and proportionate response.
He urged businesses to evaluate their individual exposure to potential threats and ensure that security and emergency procedures are functioning effectively.
Flemming Splidsboel, a senior researcher at the Danish Institute for International Studies, described the warning as serious, characterizing the alleged threat as “new,” “concrete” and “advanced.”
Former Defense Intelligence Service chief analyst Jakob Kaarsbo suggested that PET’s decision to make the warning public could also serve as a message to Moscow that Danish authorities are aware of Russian intelligence activity.
The warning comes as Denmark and other European countries strengthen security around critical infrastructure and defense industries amid heightened tensions with Russia and continued European military support for Ukraine.