Poland's internal security service has warned that Russia is shifting from using individual recruits to 'professional' networks to carry out a campaign of sabotage across Europe. The Internal Security Agency (ABW) published a report on Wednesday detailing the evolution of Russian tactics in what it describes as an 'undeclared war with the Western world.'
Rise in Espionage Investigations
The ABW reported that Poland has conducted as many espionage investigations in the past two years as it did over the previous three decades. A total of 62 people have been arrested. In 2024 and 2025, 69 espionage investigations were initiated, matching the total number between 1991 and 2023. The agency noted that while Poland is the primary target, some activities are also directed by Belarus' secret services, which are closely cooperating with Moscow, as well as by China.
Shift from Low-Cost Recruits to Organized Crime
European officials have previously warned that Russia is waging a hybrid war against Europe, including sabotage, arson attacks, vandalism, and influence operations. The Associated Press has tracked more than 150 such incidents linked to Moscow since the invasion of Ukraine. Many perpetrators were recruited online as disposable agents, often unaware they were working for Moscow. However, the ABW report indicates Russia is now moving away from these low-cost, one-time recruits toward more professional operations, tapping into organized crime networks.
According to the ABW, in 2023, Russian services relied mainly on ad hoc internet recruits. This model expanded after Western European countries expelled Russian intelligence officers following the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. But in 2024-2025, Russia placed greater emphasis on creating 'complex sabotage cells' using closed structures of organized crime. The report states: 'Russians prefer individuals with experience in law enforcement (e.g., former soldiers, police officers, mercenaries from the Wagner Group).' Russian services have also intensified training on Russian territory to professionally prepare agents for terrorist activities.
Mass Surveillance and Diversion
The ABW considers 'mass surveillance' operations in Poland as groundwork for acts of diversion, which it views as the most serious challenge. Russian intelligence, escalating actions in Poland, accepts the possibility of fatalities. In November 2025, Poland faced what Prime Minister Donald Tusk called an 'unprecedented act of sabotage,' when explosions and malfunctions on a railway line used for deliveries to Ukraine affected two trains, including a passenger train. There were no casualties.
The long-term goal of the Russian Federation, the report concludes, remains the disintegration of Euro-Atlantic structures, isolation of specific countries, and their internal socio-political and economic destabilization.
