Russia is escalating its hybrid attacks on the West. Moscow will make Europe’s life ‘hell’ for supporting Ukraine, Kremlin insider tells Bloomberg.

Russia’s hybrid attacks on European countries are growing more aggressive and reckless, the Bloomberg news agency reports in an extensive investigation. European officials who spoke with the outlet said it is only a matter of time before the attacks cause civilian casualties.

Russia was once accused of interfering in elections and weaponizing migrants trying to reach Europe. Now it is suspected of sabotage, arson, attacks on critical infrastructure, cyberattacks, and airspace violations.

Many incidents — particularly cyberattacks and hacks — go publicly unreported, meaning the true scope of the hybrid campaign is far larger than what’s known.

Over the past two months, Russia has focused its attacks on defense-industrial and logistics targets directly tied to support for Ukraine, a NATO official told the agency. The campaign has grown more aggressive and carries higher risks, the official said, adding that Russia’s hybrid attacks pursue strategic goals rather than aim to cause direct physical harm.

“Russia is consistent in identifying weaknesses in NATO’s infrastructure and is willing to attempt multiple tactics and targets in a flexible and increasingly risk-taking manner,” said Emily Ferris, an associate fellow at at the UK’s Royal United Services Institute (RUSI).

European officials are confident Moscow is behind these operations, which are structured to give Russian authorities plausible deniability. The actual perpetrators are typically hired through intermediaries for money.

Russia is acting out of desperation after Ukrainian drone strikes on logistics hubs and the fuel and energy sector damaged its economy, according to Bloomberg’s sources in the intelligence services. The more painful Ukraine’s strikes become, the louder the calls within Russia’s leadership for Europe to pay for its support of Kyiv.

A Bloomberg source close to the Kremlin said outright that Russia intends to “make life hell” for Europe through asymmetric hybrid operations over its support for Ukraine.

So far, however, the outlet says, the campaign has backfired. Germany’s interior minister, Alexander Dobrindt, said the country is becoming a “daily target of hybrid warfare,” yet Germany has announced it will supply Ukraine with missiles for its air defense systems and has launched serial production of drones for the Ukrainian military.

The war in photographs

Russia continues to attack Ukraine daily with drones and missiles. Overnight on September 17, Russian strikes damaged warehouses, office buildings, and multistory apartment buildings in Kyiv, injuring 20 people, according to the latest data. In Odesa, a strike damaged a 19-story building and injured six people, including two children. Meduza is publishing photographs of the aftermath of the strike on Odesa.