Russia could potentially send ground troops and weapons to conduct a limited attack on a NATO country within the coming months, Denmark’s intelligence agency warned on Thursday.
The Danish Defense Intelligence Service issued the bluntest warning from a NATO ally yet about a “low but growing risk” that Russia could deploy a small number of troops into a neighboring country or fire long-range weapons on infrastructure that supports Ukraine.
“A limited military attack would be a desperate move on Russia’s part and, like the intensified hybrid attacks, could potentially take place in the coming months,” the spy agency, called the FE, warned.
Alexander Zemlianichenko/POOL AP via AP
FE chief Thomas Ahrenkiel said Moscow could try to use the excuse of protecting Russian minorities in other countries as a reason to deploy its troops, who may operate without wearing the Kremlin’s insignia.
It used similar tactics in Russian-special parts of Ukraine in the years before launching the 2022 all-out invasion.
Moscow could even try to mastermind a false-flag operation that would see its soldiers use Ukrainian-made drones to attack a NATO member.
“The aim is not to take over the country, but to divide NATO,” Ahrenkiel said.
Along with direct military operations, the FE warned that Russia is likely to intensify its hybrid war against the West.
Moscow has already been accused of cutting critical undersea cables in Europe and an attempted drone attack on Germany’s Leipzig/Halle Airport, prompting European Union members to call for new sanctions against Russia.
The Danish intelligence said that the coming Russian hybrid attacks would result in “greater consequences for the countries targeted than in the past.”
The hybrid attacks could also go beyond just targeting infrastructure and “carry a high risk of casualties,” the the FE warned.
