Russia carries out ‘reckless’ sabotage campaign in Europe: UK spy chief

PARIS: Russia is waging a reckless campaign of sabotage in Europe, the head of British foreign intelligence warned on Friday (Nov 29), accusing President Vladimir Putin of displaying a mix of “bluster and aggression.”

In a rare public speech abroad, the head of the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS, also known as MI6), Richard Moore, also stated that while Iran had been affected by the degradation of allied militias in the Middle East, its nuclear program “threatens us all”.

“We have recently uncovered a stunningly reckless campaign of Russian sabotage in Europe, even as Putin and his acolytes resort to nuclear saber-rattling to sow fear about the consequences of aiding Ukraine and defying Western resolve,” Moore said in a speech in Paris .

He did not reveal details about the nature of the sabotage, but said such “activity and rhetoric” was “dangerous and beyond irresponsible.”

Moore acknowledged the cost of Western support for Ukraine, which has been struggling The full-scale invasion of Russia from February 2022.

But he warned that “the cost of not doing so would be infinitely greater.”

“If Putin is allowed to succeed in reducing Ukraine to a vassal state, he will not stop there,” Moore said.

“If Putin succeeds, China would weigh the implications, North Korea would become emboldened and Iran would become even more dangerous,” he said.

But Moore continued: “We have no doubt that our Ukrainian friends have the will to win.”

British and French intelligence services had been “critical” in reporting decisions made by their respective governments, “so that they can successfully navigate Putin’s combination of bluster and aggression,” he said.

moore said Russia depended on China’s support.Iran and North Korea, whose military aid to Moscow, according to the West, now extends to the deployment of troops.

“Putin… is endangering Russia’s future, investing huge sums of money in his military machine and wasting tens of thousands of lives – Russian and now North Korean – in his catastrophic conflict,” Moore said.