Russia 'recruiting far-right extremists' to launch attacks against Nato nations
12 May 2024, 15:35 | Updated: 12 May 2024, 15:45
Russia is understood to be recruiting far-right extremists to launch attacks against the West.
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Extremists recruited by Russian GRU agents have been responsible for a series of attacks in several Nato nations over the last six months, intelligence sources have said.
Militants considered "pro-Russia, pro-Putin and very violent" are being taken on by undercover officers as well as the Wagner group, according to the Telegraph.
It comes after the Home Office said Britain will expel the Russian defence attaché for spying for the Kremlin.
Home Secretary James Cleverly also closed several buildings used by the Putin regime and promised a cap on the amount of time Russian diplomats can spend in the UK.
A source told National Security News: “The GRU are cultivating a network of Right-wing terrorists to deploy against Nato targets.
“These attacks are already happening and have been going on for a while in various Nato countries and the UK is definitely on the target list.
Read more: Putin is ready to launch invasion of Nato nations to test West, warns Polish spy boss
“Attacks may have taken place in the US and have occurred in Germany.
“Intelligence agencies are now actively warning their governments that the threat is very real.
“Right-wing extremists are being targeted because they are the group in the political spectrum who are pro-Russia, pro-Putin and very violent.
“There is also a lot of covert contact between Right-wing groups in different countries.”
Ex-military intelligence officer on why Putin won't stop at Ukraine
It comes after the head of Poland's counterintelligence service warned that Vladimir Putin is ready to launch an invasion of Nato nations and annex parts of Estonia and Sweden to test the West.
Jarosław Stróżyk said Putin is in a position where he could begin planning a small-scale invasion but is holding back due to the West's response to the attack in Ukraine.
"Putin is certainly already prepared for some mini-operation against one of the Baltic countries, for example, to enter the famous Narva [municipality in Estonia] or to land on one of the Swedish islands," Mr Stróżyk told Polish paper Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.
He added: "What the West is doing together to support Ukraine shows him that in the event of an attack on Nato, the Western response would be even greater."
Several member states have already begun alerting citizens about potential Russian aggression.
Poland has said it is ready to host nuclear weapons on their borders if asked to by Nato.
Polish President Andrzej Duda said: "Russia is increasingly militarising Kaliningrad. Recently it has been relocating its nuclear weapons to Belarus.
"If our allies decide to deploy nuclear arms on our territory as part of nuclear sharing, to reinforce Nato's eastern flank, we are ready to do so.
"I've already talked about it several times. I must admit that when asked about it, I declared our readiness."
