Overview

• German intelligence reports a strategic shift by Russian services toward recruiting 'disposable' civilian agents for clandestine operations.
• These 'Wegwerf-Agenten' are often enlisted via social media and messaging platforms like Telegram for tasks such as sabotage, disinformation, and espionage.
• The tactic reflects Russia’s adaptation to counterintelligence successes that have disrupted traditional spy networks in Europe.
• Authorities recently arrested three Ukrainians in Germany and Switzerland on suspicion of sabotage, with evidence pointing to Russian state involvement.
• Germany remains a primary target for Russian hybrid threats, with officials warning of a persistently high threat level independent of the Ukraine war’s progression.