Speculation is mounting that Russia has expanded its hybrid war across Europe, with fridges being hacked, flights diverted by bomb threats, and Russian troops showing signs of preparing for a potential new incursion into the continent.
On Tuesday, a series of hoax bomb threats sparked flight chaos across Europe with multiple passenger jets forced to make emergency landings at airports across the continent.
At least six flights were targeted this morning, with some forced to divert before being searched on the ground, while one Ryanair jet - from Dublin to Rome - was accompanied by an Italian fighter jet.
Two of the grounded flights took off from the UK before making unscheduled landings due to the mid-air security scares.
At Rome's Fiumicino airport, bomb disposal experts searched two Ryanair flights - one originating from Lisbon and the other from Dublin - following anonymous tips regarding potential bomb threats.
A flight from Heathrow to Warsaw and a Ryanair service from Manchester to Murcia in southern Spain also received threats this morning.
Flights from Copenhagen to Warsaw and from Bergamo to Sofia were grounded after similar threats.
Although no one has claimed responsibility for the threats, they come amid a growing campaign of Russian sabotage across Europe, as Moscow steps up its hybrid warfare through drone incursions and cyberattacks.
Spanish officials confirmed a Ryanair plane from Manchester to Murcia airport in southern Spain came under threat
Passengers in Murcia airport following the bomb threat on the plane from Manchester
Moscow has repeatedly denied involvement in any sabotage or hybrid warfare operations.
However, the continent is on edge as Vladimir Putin recently warned he is prepared for a major war with Europe.
In a chilling threat to the West last week, the Russian tyrant said there would be 'no winners' if he entered a conflict with Nato.
Despite insisting he did not want to become embroiled in a bloody fight with Europe, he said if tensions continued to escalate, he and his troops are ready.
'Many people keep talking about preparing for war by 2030. Is that right or wrong?' Putin said at a press conference in Moscow on Thursday.
'First of all, we are ready, but we don't want any war with Europe. As for them, if anyone wants it, let them prepare.'
Western intelligence officials have also warned that the Russian tyrant has an 'appetite' to increase his European sabotage campaign, in a move sources fear could lead to a war by 2030.
On Monday, a Hungarian Gripen fighter plane was scrambled to escort a passenger plane, which was forced to make an emergency landing at Budapest airport following a bomb threat.
Hungary's defence minister Romulusz Ruszin-Szendi said on Monday that the fighter jet was deployed 'within minutes' to escort the aircraft and ensure it landed safely.
'Our soldiers have once again proven that they can be deployed immediately if necessary and can guarantee the security of Hungary's airspace,' he said.
Meanwhile, British supermarkets have been placed on high alert after cyber hackers hit shops across Europe, seizing control of their fridges and freezers.
The National Cyber Security Centre – a wing of intelligence agency GCHQ – has warned retailers to stay alert after the attacks, which have caused widespread damage.
Dozens of supermarkets in Belgium, Sweden, Ireland, Luxembourg and Estonia have been targeted – just weeks after hackers turned up the temperatures of cooling units in hundreds of French grocery stores.
Moscow has repeatedly denied involvement in any sabotage or hybrid warfare operations
Employees had to throw away bags of spoiled food at an ICA supermarket
An employee cleans refrigerators which had been hacked at an ICA store in Stockholm, Sweden
The latest attack involved a number of fridges manufactured by Belgian firm Sabcobel. The company said units' evaporators were switched to defrost mode, causing temperatures to spike from -27C to 50C in some cases.
It is similar to the method used in last month's attack on French supermarkets, which led to millions of euros' worth of food being thrown away and caused several fires.
The French hacks affected fridges supplied by Danfoss, which also works with British supermarkets including Tesco and Sainsbury's.
Around 40 Delhaize and Colruyt supermarkets in Belgium and Luxembourg were hit, along with 15 Carrefour stores.
Ikea said its retail refrigeration control systems at one store in Belgium had also been affected and said it 'cannot rule out' whether additional locations have been affected.
'We have in recent weeks... identified that we have quite a lot of exposed operational technology devices in Sweden that we have been clear about the necessity to update or patch,' said the head of Sweden's national cyber-security centre.
European leaders are taking action against increasing threats, with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk saying today that he sent armed forces to the Russian border amid fears of an armed incursion.
The move comes as his country foiled a potential 'provocation' overnight on its border with the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad, he said, noting that he was informed just after midnight of suspicious activity on Poland's northern border.
'We very quickly mobilized the necessary security forces and means on site, and we successfully prevented any attempted acts of provocation, if that was the intention. Of course, we will never be able to completely confirm that,' Tusk said.
He added that the incident followed weeks of warnings from Polish and allied intelligence that 'acts of diversion or more serious provocation' could target the European Union and NATO member's border with Russia, including 'the intrusion of armed individuals into Polish territory'.
Tusk warned that Poland could face a prolonged 'escalation from the Russian side', and called for heightened vigilance against sabotage operations or other threats.
A Polish soldier kneels next to a Polish Army AMZ Zubr armoured vehicle
Tusk warned that Russia's war plans included 'hybrid' attacks with drones and missiles against Ukraine's allies
Poland, which sits on the eastern flank of the EU and NATO, has repeatedly accused Russia of 'sabotage' since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Warsaw plays a key logistical role in getting Western military and humanitarian aid into Ukraine.
In September, Tusk warned that Russia's war plans included 'hybrid' attacks with drones and missiles against Ukraine's allies.
Meanwhile, a sabotage network was uncovered in Romania whose members were acting on behalf of Russian intelligence agencies and preparing attacks on defence industry facilities in the EU.
The Romanian Intelligence Service identified a group of three people involved in an attempted arson attack on the Carfil arms manufacturing plant in Brașov.
The investigation established that these people, who were citizens of post-Soviet states legally residing in EU countries, were involved in preparing the operation.
The activities of the uncovered network were not limited to Romania, according to the intelligence agency.
Russian handlers had identified several potential targets across the region, including state-owned and private defence industry enterprises, as well as other facilities linked to the military.
It comes as US-brokered talks between Kyiv and Moscow are set to take place in Abu Dhabi next week.
The dates of the latest round of talks - the first since February - were announced hours after multiple Russian strikes hit an aid distribution point in the southeastern Ukrainian village of Komyshuvakha, killing at least 33 people.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said he had so far seen no sign that Russia was willing to engage seriously in talks aimed at ending the war.
'It is important that Russia finally and seriously engages in negotiations about a ceasefire and a subsequent peace agreement,' Merz said alongside Volodymyr Zelensky in Berlin, when asked about the US-brokered trilateral talks.
'I do not see that happening so far.'
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