Ireland has faced a series of coordinated hybrid incidents — mass false reports of “mining” targeting schools, television and radio companies, as well as cyberattacks on supermarket refrigeration systems. Irish officials and security sources assess the involvement of Russian structures as highly probable, pointing to the goal of sowing panic and disrupting major European summits being held in the country.
In early November, several related events occurred. On Friday, 6 November, identical emails containing bomb threats were received by the newsrooms of RTÉ, the Irish Independent, Newstalk and other media outlets. This led to building evacuations, temporary interruptions of broadcasts, and large-scale police checks by An Garda Síochána. Earlier the same week, a cyberattack affected refrigeration systems at SuperValu stores and other European supermarkets: temperatures were raised to high levels, forcing products to be written off. Pro-Russian hacker groups claimed responsibility, though this has not been independently verified. At the same time, a wave of “bomb threat” messages against flights swept across Europe (including Ryanair and Aer Lingus), causing aircraft diversions and fighter-jet intercepts.
A month earlier, in October, similar mass email threats were received by more than 150 schools in Ireland (as well as hundreds in Northern Ireland). The messages were deemed false, but they triggered evacuations and inspections. Some emails were signed in the name of extremist groups.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin stated that there is a “general view” of a “Russian connection” behind the rise in hybrid attacks, although it is not yet possible to definitively confirm responsibility specifically for the media threats. He described the incidents involving aviation, media and supermarkets as coordinated. Defence Minister Helen McEntee noted that Russia “cannot be ruled out,” as similar actions in Europe are increasingly attributed to Moscow. Sources in the Irish security services assess the likelihood of Russian involvement in the airline threats and refrigerator cyberattacks at roughly 80% (according to the Irish Examiner). The Times, citing Garda and the Defence Forces, reports that Russian intelligence services are believed to be responsible for the wave of false threats.
The Russian Embassy in Dublin and the Kremlin categorically deny any involvement, calling the accusations “absurd” and “unfounded.” No direct evidence has been publicly presented — hybrid operations are typically built on plausible deniability.
The context is clear: Ireland is preparing for its presidency of the Council of the EU and is hosting the European Political Community summit with dozens of leaders. Similar waves of threats have been observed in other countries ahead of major events. Analysts view this as a typical element of hybrid warfare — low-cost, hard-to-attribute actions aimed at destabilisation, diverting resources and undermining trust in authorities and the media.
Irish authorities emphasise that all the threats were false, but the investigation continues in cooperation with European partners. Ministers have warned that schools and hospitals must be prepared for possible new attempts. The situation underscores the vulnerability of even neutral countries to modern forms of pressure.
