Telegram recruiters have been identified seeking saboteurs in multiple EU countries, including Lithuania, Poland, Latvia, and the Czech Republic, offering payments up to $3,000 for arson attacks on Ukrainian organizations and NATO-related targets. The recruiters advertised the work as easy and technical, but private communications reveal offers for illegal sabotage, including setting fire to military vehicles, offices of Ukrainian communities, and production facilities supporting Ukraine’s defense. The recruitment campaign is large-scale, with over 20 million ads in Russian-language Telegram job chats since early 2026, posted globally. Accounts posting ads were mostly tied to phone numbers from India, Iran, and Arab countries, with no direct Ukrainian phone number links found. In Ukraine, 25 sabotage convictions in 2026 involved Telegram recruitment. The Ukrainian Security Service attributes this network to a Russian intelligence-led operation called "Sabotage Noise," responsible for over 1,400 crimes since 2023.

Telegram recruiters have been identified seeking saboteurs in multiple EU countries, including Lithuania, Poland, Latvia, and the Czech Republic, offering payments up to $3,000 for arson attacks on Ukrainian organizations and NATO-related targets. The recruiters advertised the work as easy and technical, but private communications reveal offers for illegal sabotage, including setting fire to military vehicles, offices of Ukrainian communities, and production facilities supporting Ukraine’s defense. The recruitment campaign is large-scale, with over 20 million ads in Russian-language Telegram job chats since early 2026, posted globally. Accounts posting ads were mostly tied to phone numbers from India, Iran, and Arab countries, with no direct Ukrainian phone number links found. In Ukraine, 25 sabotage convictions in 2026 involved Telegram recruitment. The Ukrainian Security Service attributes this network to a Russian intelligence-led operation called "Sabotage Noise," responsible for over 1,400 crimes since 2023.