European intelligence services warn that Russia has transformed properties in Western Europe into a network of “Trojan horses”, prepared to support a possible coordinated sabotage campaign.
According to security officials, quoted by The Telegraph, Russian clandestine units have exploited legislative loopholes to acquire properties located near sensitive military and civilian targets in at least 12 European countries.
Officials claim that Moscow is intensifying its so-called “hybrid war” against the West. The term describes a combination of conventional and unconventional tactics – from disinformation and cyber attacks, to sabotage and undercover operations – aimed at destabilizing an adversary without triggering a direct military conflict.
Russian spy agencies have reportedly purchased holiday homes, cabins, warehouses, abandoned schools, urban apartments, and even entire islands. According to sources cited by The Telegraph, these properties could serve as bases for surveillance, sabotage, or undercover attacks.
Active officials and former members of three European intelligence agencies have stated that there are fears that some locations may already house explosives, drones, weapons, and infiltrated agents, ready to act in case of a crisis.
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine four years ago, sabotage incidents attributed to Moscow – including fires in London and Warsaw, booby-trapped parcels, assassination attempts, and attempts to derail trains – have reportedly increased significantly. Some Western officials believe that these actions could represent only preliminary “tests”.
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