Russia is carrying out diversions at arms factories across Europe and recruiting members of local criminal groups to inflict damage on defense enterprises and test NATO's readiness for retaliatory actions. This was reported on Sunday, August 23, by the British newspaper The Telegraph. According to intelligence officials, these attacks appear to be planned in such a way as to avoid triggering Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty. ## ## Estonia, Italy, Bulgaria, and the Czech Republic In Latvia, three individuals were detained on suspicion of deliberately setting fire on August 15 to the building of the defense company Milrem Robotics in Tallinn, two of whom have been placed under arrest. This was reported on August 19 by Estonian State Prosecutor Gardi Anderson. The company supplies unmanned ground vehicles to the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Additionally, in August, explosions occurred at major arms manufacturing enterprises in Italy and Bulgaria, The Telegraph reminded. Earlier this year, a fire nearly completely destroyed a Czech factory producing drones and thermal imaging optics for Ukraine, and four suspects were detained. ## Moscow Wants to Sow Discord Among NATO Allies At the same time, Russia very rarely leaves evidence that would directly link the attacks to Moscow, the publication notes. According to its data, officers from the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Russian Armed Forces are establishing connections with sources in criminal groups that act as intermediaries in target countries, using messaging applications such as Telegram. The intermediaries then distribute tasks locally among recruiters, who are paid in cryptocurrency and often do not even suspect that they are working for Moscow, which seeks to sow discord among NATO allies, the newspaper states. Meanwhile, several countries in Europe, such as Italy and Germany, are often reluctant to attribute incidents to Moscow due to fears of escalation, the publication further writes. Against this backdrop, the Russian Federation is gathering intelligence on how far it can go in testing the alliance's patience. Earlier, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte repeatedly warned Russia that such diversions are "reckless and dangerous," and called for the alliance's response to be "clear, swift, and decisive," the newspaper reminded.
