Suspected Russian Sabotage Incidents Multiply Across Europe

Suspected Russian sabotage operations targeting NATO member states have been detected one after another across Europe. On the 15th, pipe-like obstacles were found at some 30 locations on railways in central and northern Netherlands, halting train services entirely, and that same day a drone carrying explosives entered Lithuanian airspace via Belarus. The drone was shot down by an Italian fighter jet belonging to NATO near Kaunas, the country's second-largest city, and the Lithuanian military secured the crash site (The Guardian, AP/Yonhap).

Beyond the Netherlands and Lithuania, similar suspected incidents have continued in Denmark, France, Germany, and elsewhere. On the 14th in the Baltic Sea, a Russian warship fired two flares at a Danish helicopter conducting filming operations. Danish authorities immediately summoned Russian Ambassador to Denmark Vladimir Barbin to protest (AP/Yonhap).

On the 11th, a regional express train (TER) traveling from Rouen to Caen in northwestern France derailed, injuring 44 passengers, and France too suspects Russian sabotage. On the 4th of last month, an explosive-carrying drone was discovered at Leipzig-Halle Airport in Germany. As the airport was a hub for ammunition and weapons bound for Ukraine as well as NATO military logistics, the German government strongly protested, blaming Russia behind the scenes, and closed the Russian consulate general in Bonn (The Guardian and others).

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen argued on the 15th that the recent string of incidents is part of "a broad Russian attack and provocation." She added, "They appear intended to sow threat and division in Europe, but we will not be shaken." Although the invocation of NATO Article 5, which stipulates collective defense, was discussed, no concrete measures have emerged (Politico Europe).