Home · World · Sep 9 archive
British Man Charged in Russian Sabotage Plot Allegedly Involving GRU Volunteer Corps
Confirmed
In Short: A British man has been charged with assisting Russian military spies in a sabotage plot, according to the Crown Prosecution Service.
A British man has been charged with offences related to national security, allegedly in contact with Russian military spies with the intent to commit an act of sabotage, according to the Crown Prosecution Service. Security Minister Dan Jarvis stated the UK would take 'whatever action is necessary' to defend against Russian threats.
The GRU Volunteer Corps, a group controlled by Russia’s military intelligence agency, was deemed a national security threat by the UK in July for collecting foreign intelligence and conducting hostile covert operations. Supporters of the group face up to 14 years in prison.
With Russia facing battlefield stagnation in Ukraine, it has escalated sabotage operations across Europe, aiming to raise the cost of supporting Ukraine and erode public backing, according to reports from Kyiv Post. The Russian military is turning towards sabotage operations to compensate for a lack of progress in the military campaign.
European law enforcement bodies and counter-intelligence agencies have been uncovering and dismantling networks of Russian agents for the last four and a half years, with the scale of activities in the last six months triggering major concerns over potential escalation.
What's confirmed
- A British man has been charged with offences related to national security, allegedly in contact with Russian military spies with the intent to commit an act of sabotage, according to the Crown Prosecution Service. Security Minister Dan Jarvis stated the UK would take 'whatever action is necessary' to defend against Russian threats.
- The GRU Volunteer Corps, a group controlled by Russia’s military intelligence agency, was deemed a national security threat by the UK in July for collecting foreign intelligence and conducting hostile covert operations. Supporters of the group face up to 14 years in prison.
- With Russia facing battlefield stagnation in Ukraine, it has escalated sabotage operations across Europe, aiming to raise the cost of supporting Ukraine and erode public backing, according to reports from Kyiv Post. The Russian military is turning towards sabotage operations to compensate for a lack of progress in the military campaign.
- European law enforcement bodies and counter-intelligence agencies have been uncovering and dismantling networks of Russian agents for the last four and a half years, with the scale of activities in the last six months triggering major concerns over potential escalation.
What's still developing
- GRU has been blamed by UK authorities for hostile activities against the country and allies that include the 2018 Salisbury nerve agent attack and wider sabotage and intelligence operations across Europe.
- With the diminishing returns of strikes on military and civilian targets in Ukraine, the Russian military and security services are leveraging the openness of European democracies to attack civilian and military targets through sabotage operations.
- Leveraging a large network of spies and criminal network accomplices, Russia is deploying saboteurs to disrupt the infrastructure and production centers critical to Ukraine’s war effort as well as unrelated civilian infrastructure in an effort to raise the cost of supporting Ukraine.
- A sudden spike in casualties and the necessary mass mobilization required to maintain military operations could break the illusion of a successful war that Putin is trying to preserve.
- The flight of 113,000 Russians in response to rumors of a coming mobilization suggests that much of the Russian public would not be aligned with a full pivot to war-footing.
- Now with Russia’s military prospects on the decline, Russian active measures have surged.
- Joshua Cammidge, 31, arrested after investigation led by counter-terrorism policing London Joshua Cammidge, 31, arrested after investigation led by counter-terrorism policing London A man has been charged with offences related to national security as part of an ongoing investigation led by counter-terrorism policing (CTP) London, according to the Metropolitan police.
- He was further arrested and detained the following day, being charged with assisting a foreign intelligence service and intending to commit or engage in conduct to prepare an act of sabotage.