Russian Intelligence’s Proxy Campaign Threatens the UK and Europe

Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) and Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU) have escalated a campaign that employs disposable proxies to conduct sabotage, arson and espionage across the United Kingdom and neighboring European states. The approach recruits vulnerable individuals—teenagers, petty criminals or financially strained migrants—to execute “wet work” and deliver parcels, thereby shielding professional agents from detection.

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Soviet tradecraft—signal sites, “sexpionage” honey-traps and the use of “swallows” and “ravens”—remains active, amplified by encrypted platforms such as Telegram. Former CIA station chief Sean Wiswesser, now a security consultant, notes the continuity of these tactics. The Wagner Group’s enlistment of UK drug dealer Dylan Earl to recruit British petty criminals for an arson attack illustrates the blend of espionage with modern recruitment.

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In 2024, an arson attack in Leyton hit an aid warehouse linked to Earl. In Poland, saboteurs damaged rail tracks and overhead lines. A parcel exploded at a Birmingham depot, and six Bulgarian nationals were jailed UK for spying on journalists. 22 suspects from Baltic, Ukraine Russia were recruited to ship parcels on DHL flights.

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Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk called the rail sabotage an “unprecedented act of sabotage”. Police confirmed that six Bulgarian nationals were sentenced in the UK for spying on investigative journalists. Investigators reported that 22 suspects from the Baltic states, Ukraine and Russia were recruited by Moscow to place parcels on DHL cargo flights in 2024.

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Wiswesser argues Russian agencies rely on coercion—what he calls “the stick”—rather than incentives, using financial pressure and vulnerabilities to secure disposable assets. He warns that declining professionalism within the FSB and GRU enables rogue officers to launch operations without senior approval. He criticises West’s “piecemeal” support for Ukraine as insufficient to deter Moscow’s hybrid-war tactics.

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Polish rail sabotage was carried out by two Ukrainian nationals, yet Wiswesser says Russian services exploit “Ukrainian emigres” as proxies, blurring attribution. Authorities have not disclosed identities of 22 alleged parcel-senders, leaving network’s scope unclear.

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“They might pay a young teenager who’s upset with his or her parents, give them a few thousand dollars to go take pictures of a rail line or even put an explosive down.” — Sean Wiswesser, former CIA officer

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“They’re using a lot of Ukrainian emigres,” — Sean Wiswesser, former CIA officer

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“In the West, we believe more in the carrot… The Russians believe very firmly in the stick.” — Sean Wiswesser, former CIA officer

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Analysts note ongoing speculation about a possible coup against President Vladimir Putin and heightened security for Kremlin officials. Wiswesser urges Western allies to consider coordinated sanctions and the seizure of Russian financial assets to counter the proxy-sabotage campaign.

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