WARSAW, Poland — A new report from Poland’s leading internal intelligence service has drawn urgent attention to a shifting tactic in what Western officials describe as Russia’s ongoing hybrid conflict against Europe, revealing that Moscow is abandoning its reliance on disposable, ad-hoc recruits in favor of building structured, professional sabotage networks tied to organized crime.
The assessment, published Wednesday by Poland’s Internal Security Agency (ABW), comes amid a historic surge in Russian espionage activity across Central Europe that has matched levels unseen since the end of the Cold War. ABW officials confirmed that the total number of espionage investigations launched in 2024 and 2025 equals the cumulative total of cases opened between Poland’s 1991 post-Soviet independence and the end of 2023, with 62 people arrested on spying charges over the past two years alone.
For years, European security leaders and law enforcement agencies have warned that Russia is waging an undeclared hybrid campaign against European allies, encompassing everything from arson and infrastructure vandalism to disinformation influence operations. Data from the Associated Press has tracked more than 150 such incidents tied to Moscow that have been confirmed by Western officials since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Previously, the majority of these operations relied on low-cost, one-time agents recruited spontaneously through online platforms. In many cases, recruited individuals had no idea they were actually working on behalf of Russian intelligence. This model became widespread after Western countries expelled hundreds of Russian intelligence officers in the wake of the 2022 invasion, forcing Moscow to adapt its operational structure. Now, the ABW report confirms a clear strategic shift toward institutionalized, professionalized sabotage activity.
“Russian intelligence is increasingly using methods typical of special forces — reconnaissance and sabotage — as part of Russia’s undeclared war with the Western world,” the ABW report stated. The document goes on to note that Russia is now actively building complex sabotage cells that draw on closed organized crime networks, prioritizing recruits with existing specialized experience: former military personnel, ex-law enforcement officers, and veterans of the Wagner Group mercenary organization. Russian intelligence has also ramped up in-territory training for these agents, designed to prepare them for coordinated terrorist and sabotage acts, the report added.
Polish security officials warn that the long-term strategic goal of the Russian Federation remains unchanged: to destabilize Euro-Atlantic institutions from within, split alliance unity, and sow socio-political and economic chaos in individual member states. While Poland is the primary target of these operations, the ABW noted that some activity is also coordinated by Belarusian secret services — which work in close lockstep with Moscow — and even Chinese intelligence.
The ABW warned that mass surveillance operations being carried out across Poland are laying the groundwork for future diversionary attacks, which the agency calls the most serious threat to national security it currently faces. It added that escalating Russian operations in Poland now accept the very real risk of fatal casualties among civilians and infrastructure workers.
The shifting threat comes on the heels of a high-profile incident last November that highlighted the danger of these attacks. At that time, explosions and technical malfunctions struck a key railway line used for military and humanitarian aid deliveries to Ukraine, disrupting service for two trains including a passenger service. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk described the event as an “unprecedented act of sabotage.” No casualties were reported in that incident.