Western intelligence services have warned senior executives at European defence companies that Russia is stepping up alleged plans to target them, the Financial Times reported on Sunday, citing intelligence sources.
The warnings have prompted some companies to strengthen personal security measures for their senior executives, according to officials from European intelligence agencies who spoke to the newspaper.
The sources said the Kremlin had directed an expansion of sabotage operations and hybrid warfare across Europe amid a stalemate on the battlefield in Ukraine and mounting pressure on the Russian economy. They said the alleged campaign was intended to weaken European support for Kyiv in the coming months.
According to the Financial Times, officials from five European intelligence services had warned chief executives and other senior employees at defence companies that they could be targets of Russian operatives. The warnings also involved executives at smaller businesses, particularly those manufacturing drones and components for unmanned aircraft.
Several defence industry leaders told the newspaper that they had strengthened their personal protection over the past six months following advice from security services.
Intelligence sources said Russia’s military intelligence service was largely responsible for developing the alleged plots. They described closer cooperation between Russian operatives and organized crime networks, the use of cross-border agent networks and a more structured division of reconnaissance, logistics, planning and operational tasks among separate cells.
The sources said this approach differed from earlier methods that relied on individuals recruited online and paid to carry out isolated tasks, who could then be abandoned.
In some cases, intelligence agencies had reportedly uncovered suspected plots at an advanced stage and prevented them from being carried out. In others, authorities had detected suspicious activity, including individuals allegedly monitoring the daily routines of targeted people at their homes and workplaces.
The intelligence officials told the Financial Times that the suspected campaign was also intended to create a climate of fear, meaning attacks would not necessarily have to be carried out to achieve their objective.
One official said the aim was to make people feel they were potential targets and think twice about continuing business activities connected to Ukraine.
The reported warnings come amid broader European concerns about sabotage and other covert operations attributed to Russia since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The intelligence assessments cited by the newspaper suggest that defence industry personnel, including those working on drone technology, are among the people facing increased security concerns.
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