The Times: Russia's 'disposable' Saboteurs Wreak Havoc In Europe
- 14.01.2026, 9:18
And undermine support for Ukraine.
Russia is using online messengers and cryptocurrency payments to recruit "disposable" agents to conduct low-cost sabotage operations across Europe to undermine support for Ukraine.
As The Times, according to a report by the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), a London-based think tank, Russia is attracting financially strapped Ukrainian refugees, who may not realize they are working for the Kremlin, in an attempt to undermine public support for Kiev.
The Kremlin's operations have included arson, attacks on civilian infrastructure, vandalism and other acts of sabotage aimed at sowing "fear and confusion" in Western societies and finding weaknesses in civilian infrastructure defenses, it said. The report said the number of such incidents in Europe tripled between 2023 and 2024 and that sabotage remains a "key tool" of Russia's hybrid warfare.
Low-level agents are typically recruited through encrypted messengers such as Telegram and paid small sums of money, often in cryptocurrency. Recruits are offered a few dollars for actions such as graffiti and up to $10,000 for more serious crimes.
"In several cases, saboteurs have not been paid at all, underscoring their disposability," the analysts said.
Inflaming tensions and undermining support for Ukraine "is part of the logic of low-level [Russian] sabotage, even if the physical damage itself is limited," said report co-author Kinga Redlowska.
The report stresses that European countries should step up oversight of over-the-counter cryptocurrency exchanges for cash.
"Europe has been relatively slow to recognize these incidents as part of a coordinated campaign of sabotage. Money moves fast, especially through cryptocurrency and informal money services, while legal and cross-border cooperation processes have been slow. Even failed or ineffective terrorist attacks still reach Russian targets by creating fear, draining security resources and testing response thresholds," Redlowska said.
The report also called for campaigns to raise awareness of the Kremlin's tactics among recent migrants, the diaspora and teenagers - groups thought to be most likely to be targeted by Russian recruiters - as well as the introduction of rewards for informants.