German authorities warn people against becoming ‘disposable agents’ for Russia

Russia's latest war tactic: Hire local criminals to sow chaos across Europe

[...] “It’s a relatively new thing to see criminal proxies used on behalf of foreign states,” Cmdr. Dominic Murphy, the head of the counter-terrorism unit at London’s Metropolitan Police [said]. “We have seen this trend developing over the last year or two, and I’m sure we’ll continue to see it develop over the next year or so.”

Over the last year, NATO governments have accused Russian intelligence agencies of remotely recruiting criminals and using them to sow chaos.

The exact number of attacks is difficult to quantify. The allegations range from Britain to Estonia to the Czech Republic to Poland — where, authorities say, Russia paid a group to burn down the country’s biggest shopping mall in May 2024.