PARIS: Russia is waging a reckless campaign of sabotage in Europe, the British foreign intelligence chief warned on Friday (Nov 29), accusing President Vladimir Putin of showing a mixture of “bluster and aggression”.
In a rare public speech abroad, the head of the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS, also known as MI6), Richard Moore, also said that while Iran had been affected by the degrading of allied militias in the Middle East, its nuclear programme “threatens us all”.
“We have recently uncovered a staggeringly reckless campaign of Russian sabotage in Europe, even as Putin and his acolytes resort to nuclear sabre-rattling to sow fear about the consequences of aiding Ukraine and challenge Western resolve,” Moore said in a speech in Paris.
He did not disclose details as to the nature of the sabotage but said such “activity and rhetoric” was “dangerous and beyond irresponsible”.
Moore acknowledged the cost of Western support for Ukraine, which has been fighting Russia’s full-scale invasion since February 2022.
But he warned the “cost of not doing so would be infinitely higher”.
“If Putin is allowed to succeed in reducing Ukraine to a vassal state, he will not stop there,” said Moore.
“If Putin succeeds, China would weigh the implications, North Korea would be emboldened and Iran would become still more dangerous,” he said.
But, Moore continued: “We have no doubt that our Ukrainian friends have the will to win.”
British and French intelligence services had been “critical” in informing decisions made by their respective governments, “so they can navigate successfully Putin’s mix of bluster and aggression”, he said.
Moore said Russia was relying on support from China, Iran and North Korea, whose military assistance for Moscow, according to the West, now extends to the deployment of troops.
“Putin … is jeopardising Russia’s future, pouring vast sums into his military machine and squandering tens of thousands of lives – Russian and now North Korean – in his catastrophic conflict,” Moore said.
