Russian security services have become 'more brazen than ever', intelligence officials say

Russian security services have become ‘more brazen than ever’, senior intelligence officials told AP.
While they once focused on defectors and former spies, they now target activists, foreign supporters of Ukraine and directors of military companies.
The campaign has been systematic since the start of the invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and Western officials have mapped 191 acts of sabotage, arson and assassination attempts linked to Russia.
In April 2025, a team of Russian operatives spent hours surveilling the home of Vladimir Osechkin in southwestern France, scouting the terrain for a planned assassination.
Experts note a key shift in Russian tactics: after the West expelled hundreds of Russian diplomats and spies in 2018, Moscow now uses a ‘proxy’ model - recruiting local criminals and cheap mercenaries via social media.
The goal is to silence critics, intimidate European governments and exhaust police resources.