# Russia Accused of Intensifying Assassination Plots Across Europe *Thursday, May 7, 2026 at 12:04 PM UTC — Hamer Intelligence Services Desk* **Published**: 2026-05-07T12:04:46.249Z (3h ago) **Category**: intelligence | **Region**: Europe **Importance**: 9/10 **Sources**: OSINT **Permalink**: https://hamerintel.com/data/articles/3021.md **Source**: https://hamerintel.com/summaries --- **Deck**: Western intelligence officials report that Russia has escalated covert assassination and sabotage efforts across Europe since 2022, targeting activists, defectors, and Ukraine supporters. By 7 May 2026, authorities in at least five European states had disrupted or investigated plots involving surveillance, bombings, and shootings. ## Key Takeaways - Western intelligence services say Russia has stepped up assassination and sabotage operations across Europe since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. - Authorities in France, Lithuania, Germany, Poland, and Spain have uncovered alleged Russian-linked plots involving surveillance, bomb attempts, shootings, and targeted killings. - Targets reportedly include Ukrainian activists, defectors, military personnel, and individuals linked to support networks for Kyiv. - The campaign points to a broader Russian strategy of extraterritorial coercion and intimidation within NATO and EU states. On 7 May 2026, Western security officials disclosed that Russia has significantly intensified efforts to conduct assassinations and violent operations across Europe since launching its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The briefings, reported around 11:07 UTC, suggest an organized campaign that extends beyond traditional espionage into active measures aimed at killing or intimidating individuals Moscow perceives as threats. According to these officials, law enforcement and intelligence agencies in France, Lithuania, Germany, Poland, and Spain have in recent months disrupted or investigated multiple operations attributed to Russian state-linked actors or their proxies. These activities have reportedly included detailed surveillance of potential targets, planning of bomb attacks, attempted or successful shootings, and other forms of physical intimidation and sabotage. The individuals targeted span a range of categories: Ukrainian activists and diaspora organizers involved in supporting Kyiv’s war effort; former Russian or Belarusian security personnel who defected and now cooperate with Western services; military figures connected to training or equipping Ukrainian forces; and European citizens engaged in volunteer logistics, fundraising, or advocacy that materially benefits Ukraine. In several cases, investigations have indicated the involvement of criminal intermediaries recruited or co-opted by Russian intelligence services to create deniability. The primary actors driving this campaign are assessed to be Russian intelligence and security agencies, including the GRU and FSB, along with affiliated networks operating under diplomatic, business, or criminal cover. On the defensive side, European domestic security services, counterterrorism units, and specialized prosecutors have grown increasingly coordinated in identifying patterns linking seemingly isolated incidents across different jurisdictions. Strategically, the alleged Russian operations serve multiple purposes. They seek to deter defections and punish those who cooperate with Western intelligence; to disrupt networks that channel aid to Ukraine; and to signal to domestic and foreign audiences that Moscow retains the capacity to project coercive power in the heart of Europe. The use of bomb plots and shootings—a shift from more discreet poisonings in earlier years—suggests a willingness to accept higher collateral risk in pursuit of psychological impact. For Europe and NATO, these developments raise the stakes of counterintelligence and internal security. They also blur the lines between peacetime espionage and wartime clandestine action, complicating legal and policy responses. Some of the investigated cases verge on what could be classified as state terrorism, particularly where plots target civilians or aim to cause broader destabilization rather than solely neutralizing high-value individuals. Regionally, the campaign risks sowing distrust within societies hosting large Russian-speaking communities, as authorities scrutinize possible recruitment channels for covert operations. It may also exacerbate political debates over the presence of Russian diplomatic missions and cultural institutions, which are often alleged to provide cover for intelligence officers. ## Outlook & Way Forward In the near term, European states are likely to respond with a mix of quiet and public measures: expelling suspected Russian intelligence officers, tightening visa regimes, enhancing protection for high-risk individuals, and investing in physical and digital surveillance of suspected networks. Joint task forces across the EU and NATO will increasingly fuse criminal, intelligence, and open-source information to map out Russian operational footprints. Over the medium term, legislative changes may broaden the tools available to prosecutors, including new offenses tailored to foreign state-directed coercion, harsher penalties for participation in such networks, and expanded use of asset freezes against facilitators. Some governments will contemplate formally designating particular Russian units or associated groups as terrorist organizations, a step that would have significant diplomatic ramifications. Strategically, the trajectory of this covert campaign will be closely tied to the course of the war in Ukraine and broader Russia–West relations. If Moscow concludes that such operations yield tangible deterrent effects with manageable blowback, activity may further expand. Conversely, credible attribution combined with severe diplomatic, legal, and economic consequences could force the Kremlin to recalibrate its risk calculus. Observers should monitor patterns of unexplained violent incidents involving exiles or Ukraine-linked actors, upticks in diplomatic expulsions, and any moves by European governments to publicly attribute and jointly condemn specific plots as part of a coordinated counter-pressure strategy.