Russia is intensifying its efforts to assassinate opponents in Europe, according to three Western intelligence officials from different countries who spoke to The Associated Press. They say a campaign of targeted killings has escalated since Moscow's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Evidence of plots across Europe
In southwestern France, Russian activist Vladimir Osechkin has lived under police protection since 2022 due to suspected Russian assassination attempts. In April 2025, a crew of Russian men surveilled his home in Biarritz, taking videos and photos, according to court documents seen by the AP. Osechkin, who founded a prisoners' rights group and investigates Russian abuses in Ukraine, said a red dot—possibly a laser sight—appeared on his wall years earlier.
In Lithuania, authorities disrupted a plot to kill a Lithuanian supporter of Ukraine and another targeting a Russian activist. German officials foiled two plots: one against the head of a German weapons company supplying Ukraine, and another against a Ukrainian military official. Polish authorities arrested a man in 2024 for allegedly plotting to assassinate Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. That same year, a Russian helicopter pilot who defected was killed in Spain, with Russian operatives as prime suspects.
Intelligence officials speak out
The three intelligence officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Russia's security services have become more brazen, targeting Russian activists and foreign supporters of Ukraine alongside military defectors. One senior European intelligence official stated, "This campaign is not by accident or chance. There is political authorization."
The officials see the assassination campaign as linked to Russia's broader efforts to undermine European countries supporting Ukraine, including 191 acts of sabotage, arson, and disruption mapped by the AP across Europe since the war began. Many accused individuals are cheap proxies recruited by Russian intelligence, according to French court documents and Lithuanian prosecutors.
Targets speak out
The AP interviewed three targets: Osechkin; Lithuanian activist Valdas Bartkevičius; and Ruslan Gabbasov, an advocate for independence for Russia's Bashkortostan region. Osechkin said police protection saved his life: "If it weren't for them, I probably would have been killed."
In Lithuania, Gabbasov discovered an Apple AirTag tracker on his car in February 2025. Police later told him a killer was detained near his home, waiting with a gun. He refused to disappear, saying, "I can't betray them all by simply disappearing, especially out of fear."
Bartkevičius, who raises money for Ukraine and urinated on a Russian war memorial, faced a plot to kill him with a bomb in his mailbox in March 2025. He rejected offers to change his identity, calling it "social death."
Proxies and foiled plots
Lithuanian prosecutors charged 13 people from at least seven countries in the two plots, among at least 20 detained or identified across Europe in the past year. Those involved were directly ordered by Russian military intelligence, with some linked to Russian organized crime and other arson and espionage plots.
Commander Dominic Murphy, former head of the UK Metropolitan Police counterterrorism squad, said Russia's switch to proxies followed the 2018 Salisbury poisoning of former spy Sergei Skripal. After that attack, Western nations expelled hundreds of Russian diplomats and spies, making it harder for Russian officers to operate in Europe. One intelligence official noted that most post-2022 plots have been foiled, suggesting proxies are less effective than officers.
However, the attempted killings serve additional purposes, including intimidating opponents and wasting European law enforcement resources. The case of defector Maxim Kuzminov, killed in Spain despite threats on Russian state TV, shows Russia can still kill when it chooses. As the European intelligence official warned, "Even if you thwart an operation once, you still need to be ready in case they strike again."
