COPENHAGEN, Sept 3 - Denmark's national security and intelligence service, PET, has reported that Russia is recruiting Danish citizens to aid in the planning of sabotage against Danish defence companies with ties to Ukraine.
The issue of hybrid warfare and sabotage on European soil has come into sharper focus this week after Germany attributed an attempted drone attack at the Leipzig/Halle Airport to Russia, prompting calls from European Union members for additional sanctions against Moscow.
Allegations and evidence cited by PET
Emil Gresholm, PET's head of counter-espionage, said in a statement: "Russia is both planning and carrying out acts of sabotage against defense companies and the defense industry in Europe." He added that PET sees Danish companies as targets of "concrete Russian sabotage planning," and that Russian intelligence services are actively preparing acts of sabotage directed at the defence industry in Denmark.
According to Gresholm, PET has identified specific attempts to recruit Danes on social media and on gaming platforms. The recruitment approaches reportedly asked targets to perform tasks such as taking photographs of companies or infrastructure, actions that PET says could be used in the planning of sabotage.
Gresholm warned of the seriousness of such contacts: "It is extremely serious if ordinary Danes help Russian intelligence services - either deliberately or unwittingly." He initially discussed these findings in an interview with the Berlingske newspaper.
Russian response
Moscow has denied involvement in hybrid warfare. Russia's ambassador to Denmark, Vladimir Barbin, responded in an emailed statement on Thursday, asserting that Gresholm had not provided concrete evidence to support the allegations. Barbin said: "Gresholm's statements should also be seen as an acknowledgement that Copenhagen's reckless involvement in the conflict in Ukraine and the transformation of Danish territory into a production and logistics rear base for the Ukrainian armed forces poses security risks to Denmark and its citizens."
Context and implications
The PET account links specific recruitment efforts to social media and gaming environments, suggesting the intelligence service has tracked discrete approaches rather than only broad patterns. The agency's statements place Denmark within a broader European concern about hostile operations targeting defence-related entities.
At this stage PET has highlighted examples of recruitment activity and warned of potential consequences, while Russian officials have rejected the claims and challenged the presentation of evidence.