Today, Europe has become the object of aggressive actions of the Kremlin, which define as «hybrid war». In addition to propaganda, cyber-attacks and energy blackmail, the Russian authorities have begun to actively employ criminal elements or persons willing to break the law for money to perform «dirty work». And it is not about petty crimes, but about arson, acts of sabotage and attempted murder.
This practice is confirmed by the investigations of Europol, OCCRP, Bellingcat and a number of analytical centres. Thus, researchers from Globsec and ICCT have recorded more than 100 similar incidents in Europe since 2022, in which Russia is involved in one way or another. Most often such operations were recorded in France and Poland.
Europol reports that in order to carry out attacks on critical infrastructure, Russian state structures attract «mercenaries» and even criminal groups, which increases the number of hybrid threats for Europe.
In 2024-2025, according to experts, there was a sharp increase in the number of acts of sabotage on EU territory: burning down warehouses with humanitarian aid to Ukraine, damaging railway lines, attacks on warehouses with military equipment. In particular, mass arsons were detected in Poland and Lithuania, as well as packages of explosives in the warehouses of logistics companies.
As a rule, criminal representatives or persons ready to commit crime are used for arson or sabotage, transportation of cash, weapons, drugs, because such figures are easily replaced and do not require long-term investments.
The results of investigations show that the Russians recruit the necessary contingent even via the Internet, in particular using the messenger Telegram.
Thus, the OCCRP investigation «Make a Molotov Cocktail» showed how through anonymous Telegram channels «volunteers» were recruited for burning cars, railway facilities and warehouses in EU countries. Among more than 130 identified perpetrators – 23 Russian, 15 Moldovan citizens, 12 from Estonia and Bulgaria, as well as recruited from Belarus, Poland, Latvia, Germany and the United Kingdom. At least 35 people had previous criminal records. Financial motivation was key in making such «deals». «Employers» promise anonymity and fast payments for performers. The list of required «services» is very extensive, from the placement of graffiti to the implementation of attacks on infrastructure. Investigations of the Center for the Investigation of Corruption and Organized Crime (OCCRP) and Bellingcat also draw attention to the activities of foundations, such as the well-known «Legal Foundation», which is suspected of financing not only lawyers and politicians, but also persons connected with crime in Europe. Funds for destabilizing operations and organizing protest activities passed through such structures, and financial chains were carefully disguised as charitable or human rights activities.
The consequences of the above-mentioned Russian activities in Europe are obvious, an atmosphere of tension and fear is cultivated in society. Murder, arson or sabotage themselves add a lot of work to the representatives of legal bodies.
Thus, the Russian strategy of escalation is based not on territorial conquest, but on the destruction of the social fabric of European societies. The use of crime becomes a «corrosion from the inside» method, where each small diversion intensifies polarization and overloads security systems. And yet, why did Moscow include the «criminal element» in its arsenal of hybrid means? Obviously, because such acts can be imputed to street crime. The low cost of such operations is also attractive to organizers, because «executors» receive minimal payments, but even a small fire on the railway causes strong media resonance and undermines public confidence in security.
Russia in the twenty-first century has turned criminal activity on the territory of other states into an element of state strategy. From cyber-attacks, disinformation, bribery, «by accident» drones to street arsonists coordinated via Telegram – all these fragments are part of a large-scale campaign to escalate tensions in Europe.
The main goal is not a victory on the battlefield, but the breakdown of social trust and unity in Europe. And this is what makes the use of crime by Kremlin so dangerous, because the struggle so far does not go over territory, but for the resilience of democratic societies.