When sexual aids spontaneously burst into flame, one does not automatically assume it to be the work of Vladimir Putin. However, that is the prospect now being considered by Western security officials, who believe that two electric massagers which ignited in logistics hubs in Germany and the UK back in July were in fact part of a wider Russian sabotage operation. The European erotic gadget inferno was, they suspect, a “practice run” aimed at ultimately placing similar incendiary devices aboard cargo or even passenger aircraft flying to the US and Canada.
Although downing a passenger plane would constitute a dramatic escalation for Russian spies, it would not be wholly out of character. While the Kremlin has run cyber and information warfare campaigns for years, there has been a recent upsurge in acts of physical sabotage conducted on the soil of Western nations by Moscow’s locally engaged proxies.
In July, the US foiled a Russian plot to assassinate the chief executive of German arms manufacturer Rheinmetall, apparently as punishment for the firm’s role in providing weapons to Ukraine. More recently, Germany, Sweden and Finland have reported break-ins at water treatment plants, with residents forced to boil drinking water for fear of contamination. Meanwhile, targets for defacement and arson in the Baltic states have included Latvia’s Occupation Museum and — suggesting a saboteur with a very specific grudge — a Lithuanian branch of IKEA.
Western governments have not been shy in calling this out. At a July Nato meeting, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken described sabotage attacks as “a deliberate strategy by Russia to try to undermine our security and undermine the cohesion of the Alliance”. Last month, MI5 Director-General Ken McCallum claimed that Moscow’s military intelligence unit, the GRU, is “on a sustained mission to generate mayhem on British and European streets”, including arson and sabotage “conducted with increasing recklessness”.
The question remains, however, as to why Moscow is intensifying its activities now. The overall goal is likely to degrade Western support for Ukraine by making it costly for their citizens, who are then expected to pressure their leaders to halt vital supplies of weaponry to Kyiv. There is an additional psychological element, as Western populations will feel increasingly vulnerable to the long arm of the Kremlin, thereby reducing trust in their own governments.
Worryingly, this may aim not just to sow discord now but to lay the foundations for actual warfare. Last month Bruno Kahl, the head of Germany’s foreign intelligence service, warned that “direct military confrontation with Nato has become an option for Moscow” and that Russia’s military will likely be more prepared to attack the rest of Europe later this decade. In that context, sabotage now is potentially intended to increase fear of Moscow among Western civilians and divide them from their governments in anticipation of actual conflict.
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SubscribeIt’s time to deploy our blow up dolls.
“The overall goal is likely to degrade Western support for Ukraine by making it costly for their citizens, who are then expected to pressure their leaders to halt vital supplies of weaponry to Kyiv” Could be, but also it could be that our citizens are bored and looking for a fight so as to create unity.
This article about a Russian sabotage campaign involving sex toys. Oliver Bateman’s article two days ago about the killing of P’Nut the squirrel. These articles aren’t journalism, they’re thinly researched and weakly argued blog posts, sensationalized to get clicks.
I would argue that Russia sending incendiary aboard planes destined for the U.S. and Canada is actual news and is worthy of proper journalistic coverage. It’s easy to extrapolate this to Russia downing a passenger plane at some point.
I agree on the squirrel thing, though – any serious journalist should have ignored it as a distraction and moved on.
We’ve seen how our own Western governments and news media have repeatedly lied to us about Russia, Ukraine, covid, Harris, Trump, Biden, etc, etc.
Is it possible that this latest story is more US government-sponsored disinformation about Russia?
Just to be clear, I believe Putin is ruthless and would down a Western passenger liner if he thought it would help his war effort. I’m just not convinced the latest reports about bomb-laden s*x toys are entirely trustworthy.
If they go to war with us, we’ll win. It won’t even be close. So don’t worry about it. Russia is too poor and too weak to be a real threat.
If they go to war they won’t be alone!