"Europe is unprepared to counteract a new chapter of Russian military and intelligence activities in the Baltic and North Seas, experts have told Al Jazeera. At the same time, they said, a growing rift between European and United States intelligence services is leaving the continent unsupported. Last week's European Union summit was a case in point. Belgium obstructed a plan to use Russian money to finance Ukraine's defence and turbocharge Europe's defence industry."
"Europe is no more ready today to face Russia's military advances than it was in 1939 as Nazi troops were at the door, said Joseph Fitsanakis, assistant director at the Center for Applied Intelligence in Coastal Carolina University, one of a handful of US institutions teaching intelligence and national security. Front-line states like Finland, Poland and the Baltics have no illusions about what is coming, he told Al Jazeera."
"Since 2022, Russian intelligence has been accused of sabotage and disinformation campaigns designed to disorient and divide. The hybrid warfare is about making us stressed, making us feel that in peacetime we are vulnerable and, I think, in a way, exhausting us towards being more recipient towards the final goal that Russia has for Europe, which is a division again into spheres of interest, Anna Wieslander, Northern Europe director for the Atlantic Council, a US think tank, told Al Jazeera."
Europe is unprepared to counter a new chapter of Russian military and intelligence activities in the Baltic and North Seas. A growing rift between European and United States intelligence services leaves the continent without sufficient support. Internal political divisions hampered EU action, as Belgium blocked a plan to use Russian funds to finance Ukraine's defence and to strengthen Europe's defence industry, while suspected Russian shadow fleet operations were omitted from summit conclusions. Since 2022, Russian intelligence has been accused of sabotage and disinformation campaigns intended to disorient, divide and exhaust Western populations. Front-line states such as Finland, Poland and the Baltics recognise the looming threat.
#russian-hybrid-warfare #european-defence-readiness #intelligence-cooperation-rift #shadow-fleet-espionage
Read at www.aljazeera.com
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