The new tactics of Russian special services against the European defense industry
Russia’s aggression against Ukraine has forced adjustments to the strategy of Russian intelligence and subversive activities in the European Union. While in the early stages of the full-scale invasion the Kremlin’s main instruments of influence were largely disinformation campaigns and cyberattacks on civilian infrastructure, today the priority target has become…
From Berlin to Paris: How crypto scammers from Southeast Asia are hunting Europeans
In May–July 2026, the FBI under Director Kash Patel announced the results of a large-scale intercontinental operation codenamed “Operation Blackout.” According to official Bureau data, over roughly 16 months of work, $15.2 billion was seized, including a U.S. record of 127,000 bitcoins. Hundreds of suspects were arrested across several continents,…
Timber under a foreign flag: How Central Asia became a hub for evading sanctions on Belarusian wood
After Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, on 2 March 2022 the European Union imposed a complete ban on the export of Belarusian timber, while the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) fully suspended all trade certificates for materials of Belarusian and Russian origin. This deprived Belarusian companies of the right to legally…
Why Russia’s shadow LNG fleet threatens the effectiveness of the European embargo
While European institutions prepare for the final embargo on Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG), scheduled for 1 January 2027, Moscow is rolling out an unprecedented special operation at sea in terms of its technical and legal complexity. Having failed to halt sanctions pressure through conventional diplomatic means, the Kremlin, together…
Freedom of speech as a loophole for Kremlin propaganda in the EU
After Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and the European Union’s subsequent ban on state-controlled Russian media outlets such as RT and Sputnik, the Kremlin retained alternative channels for spreading its ideological and propagandistic narratives. One of the most effective has been niche book publishing across EU countries. Works…