Overview
- An Associated Press database counts 145 incidents linked by Western officials to Russia since 2022, with arson and explosives plots rising from one in 2023 to 26 in 2024 and six recorded so far in 2025.
- Poland blamed Russian intelligence for a November rail sabotage that halted a passenger train and damaged a freight line, then deployed 10,000 troops to protect critical infrastructure.
- Investigators say the Polish case involved Ukrainian national Yevgeny Ivanov working under alleged GRU officer Yury Sizov, underscoring cross-border coordination and outsourcing to intermediaries.
- European officials report that countering these operations now consumes time comparable to terrorism cases, spurring Baltic joint investigation teams and new UK training to spot state-backed activity.
- Polish officials say recent drone incursions into allied airspace prompted NATO’s first shootdowns of suspected threats, while the Kremlin denies any connection to the wider campaign.