00:00Acts of sabotage suspected to be orchestrated by Russia are occurring all across Europe.
00:04Drones carrying explosives are appearing at airports, bombs are being found at power substations,
00:08fires are suddenly breaking out at defense contractors, and all of Europe has become a
00:12target. In fact, there have already been as many as 165 suspected cases of sabotage this year alone.
00:17What on earth is happening in Europe right now? Today, let's take a proper look at this issue.
00:20But before that, for those who want to get the fastest international news in Korea,
00:23make sure to visit the SBH website right now. You can just follow the link. Please check it out.
00:27Right now, acts of sabotage within Europe are extremely serious. According to data just
00:31released by the German Federal Criminal Police Office, already this year alone, they have
00:34identified 165 suspected cases of sabotage. These include attacks on critical infrastructure like
00:39power grids and railway networks, arson at key facilities, and bombings were all included.
00:43And while there were 165 suspected cases, they reportedly uncovered 112 espionage crimes among
00:47these. 60 cases involved spying by photographing military facilities or military supplies.
00:51Defense? Defense companies included. There were 1,068 sightings of unidentified drones over
00:56critical infrastructure facilities. What's shocking is that this all happened just in Germany.
01:01Shall we take a look at what has been going on recently in Germany? In early August, there was
01:05an attempted drone attack targeting a Ukrainian aircraft at Leipzig slash Halle airport. They tried
01:09to attack by loading explosives onto the drone, but failed. The German government pointed to Russia
01:14as the culprit behind this, and NATO also determined that Russia was responsible. In response, Germany took
01:20strong measures, closing the Russian Consulate General in Bonn and the Russian House of Science and Culture
01:24in Berlin. And on September 1, explosives were also discovered at electrical substations
01:29in Ternoprilac in eastern Brandenburg and Bergheim in western North Rhine, Westphalia.
01:34An explosive went off near a substation, causing a brief blackout, and similar explosive devices
01:39were also found at two substations in the eastern state of Saxony.
01:42Currently, German security authorities suspect that the acts of sabotage taking place across
01:46Germany are Russia's doing. German security authorities assess that around 15 to 20 Russian
01:51intelligence agents are stationed at Russian diplomatic missions, using them as espionage
01:55bases to conduct covert operations. And these provocations are happening not just in Germany,
02:00but across all of Europe. According to the Sahidachini Security Center, the number of confirmed
02:05Russian link provocations significantly increased from an average of around 10 per minute once
02:09in 2024 to over 15 per minute once after April 2026. Right now in Romania, a Russian drone that
02:15violated its airspace was shot down near the border, and in Estonia, a mysterious arson attack occurred
02:19targeting Milram Robotics, a well-known unmanned ground vehicle developer. An investigation is currently
02:24underway. Intelligence agencies across the Netherlands have also warned that Russian state-sponsored hacker
02:28groups are systematically hacking webcams and CCTV cameras to monitor the transport routes of military
02:33supplies being sent to Ukraine. And this is only what has been confirmed. There are many incidents
02:37of unknown origin that haven't been included, so looking into it further, it's estimated that far
02:41more acts of sabotage have actually been carried out. European security authorities suspect that a
02:44significant number of these sabotage incidents were carried out by Russian intelligence agencies.
02:48Right now, within Europe, anti-immigrant sentiment is spreading, and Russia is even leveraging
02:52immigrants with grievances against those countries, enticing them to commit sabotage. As a result,
02:56in most cases they're deploying sort of disposable agents, which makes it extremely difficult for
03:00European security authorities to secure definitive evidence pointing to Russia. However, former
03:04President Trump reacted to this by claiming there's no way our President Putin would do that,
03:07saying he knows Putin well and he isn't the type of person who would do such a thing.
03:10Putin also firmly asserted that he has no intention of attacking NATO territory.
03:14While these gray-zone provocations by Russia fall short of triggering a full-scale armed conflict,
03:19they are still inflicting damage and chaos on target nations. NATO officials assess that Russia is
03:23attempting to undermine European support for Ukraine by utilizing drones, arson, cyberattacks, and espionage.
03:28Remigijus Prdikis, a director at Lithuania's Ministry of National Defense, stated that Russia is
03:32looking for ways to reduce NATO members' support for Ukraine while simultaneously trying to spread
03:36fear across European society. Consequently, European nations are moving to step up their response
03:41against Russia. EU foreign ministers discussed sanctions against Russia in Ireland, reviewing
03:45additional measures to cut off Russia's funding sources, particularly targeting the transport of
03:49crude oil bypassing Western sanctions. Tighten the squeeze on the so-called Shadow Fleet
03:52was raised as a major agenda item. If Russia's energy exports continue to be maintained,
03:56it will help sustain the war effort, as the financial foundation needed to wage the war
04:00could also be sustained. So Europe is focusing on shutting down the very channels Russia uses to
04:05bypass sanctions. Measures to restrict EU entry for Russian nationals, including Russian tourists,
04:10were also discussed. On top of that, with calls to use frozen Russian assets in Europe to support Ukraine,
04:15the scope of economic pressure is expanding even further. With the scale of frozen Russian assets
04:20currently reported to exceed 194 billion euros, how to utilize them is expected to stir considerable
04:25debate going forward. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also expressed that Europe and
04:30NATO shouldn't just maintain pressure on Russia, but intensify it even further. However, there are clear
04:35limits to the responses Europe can choose. If they respond with a direct military strike on mainland Russia,
04:40it risks escalating beyond the war in Ukraine into a direct clash between Russia and NATO.
04:44That's why the path European nations are currently choosing is not waging a direct war with Russia,
04:48but tightening economic sanctions and diplomatic pressure while simultaneously providing Ukraine
04:52with military and financial support. The weapons and funding European nations provide to Ukraine
04:57target Russia's logistical hubs, military installations, and energy infrastructure,
05:02supporting Ukraine's operations. This can be seen as a strategy to weaken Russia's ability
05:06to wage war without Europe, directly engaging Russian forces. NATO is also maintaining a posture of
05:11continuing support for Ukraine while focusing on the defense of its member states. Consequently,
05:16while Europe's current response does not escalate to the level of direct conflict with Russia,
05:19the economic and diplomatic costs Russia must bear are being steadily driven higher.
05:23European concerns are deepening further with the release of recent assessments from US
05:26intelligence agencies. US intelligence authorities assessed that President Vladimir Putin,
05:30between as early as this fall and 2029, could launch limited attacks against NATO member states to
05:35test the alliance's willingness to respond according to reports. However, because NATO also maintains the
05:39sense that there are currently no signs of an imminent direct attack from Russia, it is not yet at the
05:43point where an actual attack can be considered imminent. Nevertheless, the reason Europe remains
05:47on edge is that Russia does not necessarily have to launch a large-scale military operation for NATO's
05:52cohesion to be tested. Various scenarios are being discussed, ranging from methods that inflict
05:56limited physical damage, such as cyber attacks or strikes on critical infrastructure, to small-scale
06:00border incursions by troops. Similar to how Russia deployed troops who were difficult to identify
06:04during its seizure of Crimea in the past, forces that do not clearly display their uniforms or
06:08affiliations could cross the border into a specific area and occupy it, a situation that Europe is
06:13deeply concerned about. What matters most may not be the scale of the attack, but rather what level
06:17of action NATO deems an attack on the alliance to initiate a collective response. In this situation,
06:22the regions drawing particular attention are Poland and the Baltic states. Poland not only shares a
06:26border with Russia's Kaliningrad, but also shares a long border with Belarus, an ally of Russia.
06:31Therefore, it is assessed that if Russia chooses limited military action, there are many geographically
06:36accessible areas. The Baltic states are also facing high tensions as they share direct borders with
06:40Russia, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia have relatively small territories, so if a military
06:45conflict breaks out near the border, the time it takes for other NATO member states to deploy forces
06:50could become critical. In particular, Lithuania is even on alert against scenarios where Russia might
06:55use Ukrainian-made drones to attack critical infrastructure in the Baltic region. Lithuanian
07:00intelligence has raised the possibility that Russia might be considering using Ukrainian-made drones to
07:04strike Baltic infrastructure. Because of this, Poland and the Baltic states are treating power plants,
07:08electrical grids, and communication facilities, as well as critical facilities like ports and
07:12military installations, tightening security, and… In fact, reports have emerged that countries in
07:16this region have recently stepped up protection of their major infrastructure out of concern over
07:20potential Russian provocations. One of Russia's aims in pursuing these actions across Europe is seen
07:25as an attempt to weaken cohesion within NATO. The more Russia persists with military pressure and
07:28various provocations, the more differences are bound to emerge in how NATO member states view Russia.
07:32In particular, Eastern European nations that are geographically close to Russia are highly
07:36likely to demand a strong response, judging that they face a direct security threat. On the other
07:40hand, in some Western European nations, opinions differ, with some arguing that a direct clash
07:44with Russia expanding into a wider war for all of NATO must be avoided, which is bound to widen.
07:48If these differences of opinion persist, debates within NATO over the level of response against
07:52Russia could escalate. Eastern European nations may demand more troop and weapon deployments,
07:56reinforced border defense, and additional sanctions on Russia, but Western European nations may worry
08:00that an overly expanded military response could lead to a direct conflict with Russia. Within the same
08:05alliance, even if they belong to the same alliance, their distance from Russia and distinct security
08:09situations naturally lead to differences in how acutely they perceive the threat. If Russia exploits
08:13these discrepancies, it could also affect the support that NATO provides to Ukraine. If European nations
08:17begin to worry about the possibility of conflict with Russia, internal debates will intensify over the
08:22scope of weapons and military support to Ukraine. Put escalate further. For Russia, the very situation where
08:26NATO fails to speak with one voice and individual nations advocate for different responses can be
08:30strategically advantageous in itself. Furthermore, if member states continually clash over their
08:34response to Russia, it could also undermine political trust within NATO. What Russia is aiming
08:39for is not a direct war with NATO, but rather potentially creating a situation where each member state reaches
08:44a different conclusion. However, since NATO has maintained a collective response up to this point,
08:48we will have to watch future developments to see whether this strategy actually weakens the alliance's cohesion.
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