A new study reveals that Russia is outsourcing sabotage and assassinations in Europe to gangs and convicts, effectively deploying a 'criminal army' to strike within allied countries.

Terrorism & Criminal Proxy TacticsOrganized CrimeCross-border black markets

Aggressor

Summary

A recent investigation highlights Moscow's tactic of employing petty criminals, gangs, and convicts across Europe to conduct sabotage, assassinations, and destabilizing attacks. This criminal outsourcing is a substitute for deploying elite spies and enables Russia to operate covertly within multiple European countries. The reported wave of attacks involves a network that serves Moscow's hybrid warfare aims by using criminal proxies to create insecurity and disruption within allied nations. This strategy expands the conventional espionage and sabotage toolkit by leveraging organized crime as a destabilization instrument in the ongoing conflict.

Classification

Confidence: High

The article clearly describes hostile Russian hybrid warfare activities involving the use of criminal gangs and convicts for sabotage and assassination operations within Europe, evidencing aggressor behavior. There is no mention of defensive preparations by allied states.

Source URL

https://united24media.com/world/russias-criminal-army-strikes-europe-from-within-in-a-wave-of-attacks-12142

Open source

Provenance

Publisher: extension
Submitted: Feb 14, 2026, 12:22 UTC
Last updated: Nov 9, 2026, 06:58 UTC
Event time: Oct 12, 2023, 00:00 UTC

Published as a hybrid-warfare signal with a public source and reviewer-approved assessment bands. See the methodology for how records are assessed.

Raw record

{
  "id": "000e9c88-f7a9-414b-8edf-3fb264ae9f9e",
  "url": "https://united24media.com/world/russias-criminal-army-strikes-europe-from-within-in-a-wave-of-attacks-12142",
  "source": "extension",
  "status": "approved",
  "category": "Terrorism & Criminal Proxy Tactics",
  "subcategory": "Organized Crime",
  "incident_type": "Cross-border black markets",
  "country": "European Union",
  "source_reliability": "C",
  "info_credibility": "3",
  "tags": [
    "russian invasion",
    "russian intelligence operations",
    "Russian sabotage"
  ],
  "nodes": [],
  "countries": [
    "European Union"
  ],
  "where_text": "Land",
  "headline": null,
  "description": "The article discusses how Russia is utilizing a network of criminal gangs and convicts to conduct sabotage and assassination missions across Europe, outsourcing these operations instead of relying solely on elite intelligence operatives. This 'criminal army' orchestrates a wave of covert attacks targeting allied European nations, creating threats from within by using criminal proxies and underworld networks. The strategy reflects a hybrid warfare approach, employing non-state actors to inflict damage and instability, complicating attribution and defensive responses. The tactic indicates a systematic outsourcing of hostile activities to criminal entities to sustain covert aggression in Europe.",
  "summary_short": "A new study reveals that Russia is outsourcing sabotage and assassinations in Europe to gangs and convicts, effectively deploying a 'criminal army' to strike within allied countries.",
  "summary_extended": "A recent investigation highlights Moscow's tactic of employing petty criminals, gangs, and convicts across Europe to conduct sabotage, assassinations, and destabilizing attacks. This criminal outsourcing is a substitute for deploying elite spies and enables Russia to operate covertly within multiple European countries. The reported wave of attacks involves a network that serves Moscow's hybrid warfare aims by using criminal proxies to create insecurity and disruption within allied nations. This strategy expands the conventional espionage and sabotage toolkit by leveraging organized crime as a destabilization instrument in the ongoing conflict.",
  "actor_primary": "criminal gangs and convicts outsourced by Russia",
  "target_primary": null,
  "location_text": "European Union",
  "location_region": null,
  "location_coordinates_lat": 54.526,
  "location_coordinates_lon": 15.2551,
  "location_precision": "Regional",
  "is_aggressor_signal": true,
  "signal_type": "HYBRID_SIGNAL",
  "is_hybrid_war_signal": true,
  "classification_complete": true,
  "hybrid_signal_complete": true,
  "classification_confidence": "High",
  "classification_rationale": "The article clearly describes hostile Russian hybrid warfare activities involving the use of criminal gangs and convicts for sabotage and assassination operations within Europe, evidencing aggressor behavior. There is no mention of defensive preparations by allied states.",
  "event_time_utc": "2023-10-12T00:00:00.000Z",
  "end_time_utc": null,
  "event_time_confidence": "pm24h",
  "created_at": "2026-02-14T12:22:48.275Z",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-09T06:58:21.434Z",
  "reliability_band": "strong",
  "location_precision_band": "regional",
  "time_precision_band": "within_24h",
  "severity_band": "moderate",
  "attribution_confidence_band": "high",
  "attribution_basis": "single_source"
}

Public assessmentReliability: StrongSeverity: ModerateAttribution: HighSingle sourceTime: Same dayLocation: Regional

Source reliability

Info credibility

Event time

Oct 12, 2023, 00:00 UTC

Event time confidence

pm24h

Location

European Union

Primary actor

criminal gangs and convicts outsourced by Russia

Country

European Union

Countries

European Union

Tags

russian invasion, russian intelligence operations, Russian sabotage

Loading signal...

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