Author Archives: Mark Frankel

I suggested in the LibDem Voice the other day that the collision in the North Sea was Russian sabotage. There were some sceptical comments. But was it just a coincidence that the captain of the offending vessel was Russian and most of his crew were too? The police are investigating and are discouraging such speculation. But I’m writing this when the headlines are ‘Major disruption as Heathrow closed all day after nearby fire causes power outage’. The Fire Brigade are investigating. I wonder what they will find?

The US-based Centre for Strategic & International Studies says Russia is conducting an escalating and violent campaign of sabotage and subversion against European and U.S. targets in Europe led by Russian military intelligence. The number of Russian attacks nearly tripled between 2023 and 2024. Russia’s targets are transportation, government, critical infrastructure, and industry, and its main weapons and tactics have included explosives, blunt or edged instruments (such as anchors), and electronic attack.

Frank Gardner, the BBC’s security correspondent, says Nato believes Russia is waging an undeclared war, something called “hybrid warfare”, and that the target is Western Europe itself, with the aim of punishing or deterring Western nations from continuing their military support for Ukraine. Russia and the Soviet Union have a rich tradition of conducting this type of warfare. Hybrid warfare, also called “grey zone” or “sub-threshold” warfare, is when a hostile state carries out an anonymous, deniable attack, usually in highly suspicious circumstances. It will be enough to harm their opponent, especially their infrastructure assets, but stop short of being an attributable act of war. Gardner highlights in particular the threat to the UK lurking on our sea beds, from Russian sabotage of submarine cables. In January the Defence Secretary John Healey MP told parliament about a Russian spy ship, the Yantar, which is gathering intelligence and mapping the UK’s critical underwater infrastructure.

I believe the collision in the North Sea and the fire at Heathrow are part of an emerging pattern. I may be paranoid but doesn’t mean Putin is not out to get us.