Intelligence Officials Claim Surge in Overseas Assassinations After Russian Invasion of Ukraine

(Central News Agency, Paris, 7th, Comprehensive Foreign Report) Russia has long been accused of suppressing dissidents abroad, but three Western intelligence officials indicate that since the Russia-Ukraine war, such targeted assassination attempts have greatly increased. The Associated Press has reported that 191 incidents of sabotage, arson, and other disruptive activities in Europe in recent years have been identified as being related to Russia.

According to the Associated Press, Vladimir Osechkin, a Russian human rights activist living in France, calls the police for escort every time he takes his children to school or goes to the supermarket. He has been living under French police protection since 2022, as authorities believe Russia is attempting to assassinate him.

According to undisclosed court documents obtained by the Associated Press, a group of Russian men waited for several hours near Osechkin's home in France in April 2025, taking photos and videos, allegedly preparing for an assassination attempt. Osechkin stated that a few years ago, a red dot even appeared on a wall in his home, which he believed was a laser sight from a gun.

Similar situations have occurred in other parts of Europe. Lithuanian officials last year thwarted an assassination plot against a Ukraine supporter and another attack targeting a Russian dissident; Germany also uncovered two similar incidents, one targeting a German defense executive supplying weapons to Ukraine and another a Ukrainian military official.

Polish authorities arrested a man in 2024, accusing him of plotting to assassinate Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy; in the same year, a defected Russian helicopter pilot was killed in Spain, with Russian agents identified as the prime suspects.

For a long time, despite Russian officials being accused of suppressing dissidents abroad, three Western intelligence officials from different countries have stated that since Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, such targeted assassination attempts have significantly increased.

These intelligence officials stated that Russian security services are now more reckless in selecting targets, in addition to consistently pursuing military defectors, they are also targeting Russian human rights activists and foreigners supporting Ukraine.

A former senior British counter-terrorism official and a Lithuanian prosecutor both believe that this wave of actions is related to Russia's intention to further undermine countries supporting Ukraine. According to Associated Press statistics, since the Russia-Ukraine war, 191 incidents of deliberate sabotage, arson, and other disruptive behaviors within Europe have been attributed to Russia by Western officials.

According to information provided by French court documents, officials, and Lithuanian prosecutors, many of the defendants in this wave of actions were actually ordinary people recruited by Russian intelligence agents as "cheap agents." Moscow is now using this model to deal with its adversaries overseas.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the Associated Press that he saw "no need" to comment on the matter. Russian officials have previously repeatedly denied that Moscow authorities were behind overseas assassination plots. (Compiler: Chang Ming-hsuan) 1150507