Scotty

cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/4395004

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Russia’s sabotage efforts across Europe have skyrocketed over the last two years. According to a new report published by the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), Moscow’s use of unconventional warfare methods against Ukraine and NATO member states has become a priority and is aimed at destabilizing European governments. Targeting critical infrastructure like energy, transport, military, and even undersea assets has become Russia’s go-to war strategy. As these types of attacks are difficult to pinpoint and prevent, European nations are struggling to enact a unified response or coordinate action to deter further offenses.

In a comprehensive open-source database shared by IISS(opens pdf), a clear pattern depicting Moscow’s critical infrastructure targeting efforts is highlighted. As stated in the report, “The cumulative impact of Russian attacks on physical targets, on virtual targets and via informational operations has been to undermine Western resilience and divide European societies. The effect has also been to lower the threshold for future escalation and increase the risk of strategic miscalculation on both sides.” While the bulk of Russia’s barrages have targeted assets in Ukraine or are connected to European efforts to supply Kyiv, an overall uptick in this kind of sabotage across the continent is concerning.

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Moscow’s unconventional war tactics have extended beyond Ukraine over the last few years. Particularly, Russia’s sabotage of undersea cables has sparked concern across the hemisphere since 2022. Critical undersea communications infrastructure serves as the backbone for digital communication and trade throughout the globe and plays a key role in modern society. In fact, more than $10 trillion in daily worldwide financial transactions is facilitated by such cables, making this kind of sabotage disruptive to the global economy. Baltic Sea sabotage continues to skyrocket. Telecom, gas, and power links connecting European countries like Finland, Sweden, Latvia, Germany, and Estonia are being targeted.

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Cross-border attacks targeting critical infrastructure above ground have also skyrocketed. In July, three men were convicted by a British court for setting fire to a London warehouse connected to Ukraine-bound military equipment. According to prosecutors in this case, operatives linked to the Russian mercenary company Wagner were behind the brazen attack.

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Archived link

Russia’s sabotage efforts across Europe have skyrocketed over the last two years. According to a new report published by the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), Moscow’s use of unconventional warfare methods against Ukraine and NATO member states has become a priority and is aimed at destabilizing European governments. Targeting critical infrastructure like energy, transport, military, and even undersea assets has become Russia’s go-to war strategy. As these types of attacks are difficult to pinpoint and prevent, European nations are struggling to enact a unified response or coordinate action to deter further offenses.

In a comprehensive open-source database shared by IISS(opens pdf), a clear pattern depicting Moscow’s critical infrastructure targeting efforts is highlighted. As stated in the report, “The cumulative impact of Russian attacks on physical targets, on virtual targets and via informational operations has been to undermine Western resilience and divide European societies. The effect has also been to lower the threshold for future escalation and increase the risk of strategic miscalculation on both sides.” While the bulk of Russia’s barrages have targeted assets in Ukraine or are connected to European efforts to supply Kyiv, an overall uptick in this kind of sabotage across the continent is concerning.

...

Moscow’s unconventional war tactics have extended beyond Ukraine over the last few years. Particularly, Russia’s sabotage of undersea cables has sparked concern across the hemisphere since 2022. Critical undersea communications infrastructure serves as the backbone for digital communication and trade throughout the globe and plays a key role in modern society. In fact, more than $10 trillion in daily worldwide financial transactions is facilitated by such cables, making this kind of sabotage disruptive to the global economy. Baltic Sea sabotage continues to skyrocket. Telecom, gas, and power links connecting European countries like Finland, Sweden, Latvia, Germany, and Estonia are being targeted.

...

Cross-border attacks targeting critical infrastructure above ground have also skyrocketed. In July, three men were convicted by a British court for setting fire to a London warehouse connected to Ukraine-bound military equipment. According to prosecutors in this case, operatives linked to the Russian mercenary company Wagner were behind the brazen attack.

...

cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/4384896

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A Russian rocket attack on Thursday on northern Ukraine killed two people from the Danish Refugee Council who were clearing mines in an area previously occupied by Moscow’s forces, the local Ukrainian governor said.

Experts say Ukraine is the most heavily mined country in the world, with teams of deminers across the north, south, and east, where Ukraine retook land captured by Russia at the start of its 2022 invasion.

“The Russians deliberately targeted workers from the Danish Refugee Council’s humanitarian demining mission… two people are known to have been killed,” Chernihiv regional governor Vyacheslav Chaus posted on social media.

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The strike hit near the outskirts of the regional capital of Chernihiv, 125 kilometres (80 miles) north of Kyiv.

“First, the Russians littered the area with explosives and mines. Now they are killing people, civilians who are risking their lives to clear our land,” Chaus added.

Three more people were wounded in the attack, he said.

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A Russian rocket attack on Thursday on northern Ukraine killed two people from the Danish Refugee Council who were clearing mines in an area previously occupied by Moscow’s forces, the local Ukrainian governor said.

Experts say Ukraine is the most heavily mined country in the world, with teams of deminers across the north, south, and east, where Ukraine retook land captured by Russia at the start of its 2022 invasion.

“The Russians deliberately targeted workers from the Danish Refugee Council’s humanitarian demining mission… two people are known to have been killed,” Chernihiv regional governor Vyacheslav Chaus posted on social media.

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The strike hit near the outskirts of the regional capital of Chernihiv, 125 kilometres (80 miles) north of Kyiv.

“First, the Russians littered the area with explosives and mines. Now they are killing people, civilians who are risking their lives to clear our land,” Chaus added.

Three more people were wounded in the attack, he said.

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cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/4370265

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"Europe, and Germany in particular, has outstanding scientists, institutions and innovation systems. The support for research in Germany is enviable, and the path from lab to market is historically strong," says Mona Nemer, Canada's chief science advisor.

"But advice to government is fragmented; during the pandemic, countries without a science advisor were absent from critical international coordination calls. A national science advisor integrates advice from diverse stakeholders into coherent, impartial recommendations for the government, not on behalf of a single institution, but for the benefit of the country."

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"Europe, and Germany in particular, has outstanding scientists, institutions and innovation systems. The support for research in Germany is enviable, and the path from lab to market is historically strong," says Mona Nemer, Canada's chief science advisor.

"But advice to government is fragmented; during the pandemic, countries without a science advisor were absent from critical international coordination calls. A national science advisor integrates advice from diverse stakeholders into coherent, impartial recommendations for the government, not on behalf of a single institution, but for the benefit of the country."

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cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/4370059

• 68% of EU citizens want the EU to play a greater role in protecting citizens against international crises and security risks
• Nine out of ten Europeans citizens call on Member States to tackle current global challenges together (90%) and most believe the EU needs greater means (77%) to prevail in a rapidly changing geopolitical landscape
• Defence and security (37%) as well as competitiveness, economy and industry (32%) should be the EU’s focus, to reinforce its position in the world
• To invest in what matters, 78% of EU citizens believe that more projects should be funded by the EU as a whole and 91% say the European Parliament should be properly informed and equipped to control EU spending

[Edit typo.]

• 68% of EU citizens want the EU to play a greater role in protecting citizens against international crises and security risks
• Nine out of ten Europeans citizens call on Member States to tackle current global challenges together (90%) and most believe the EU needs greater means (77%) to prevail in a rapidly changing geopolitical landscape
• Defence and security (37%) as well as competitiveness, economy and industry (32%) should be the EU’s focus, to reinforce its position in the world
• To invest in what matters, 78% of EU citizens believe that more projects should be funded by the EU as a whole and 91% say the European Parliament should be properly informed and equipped to control EU spending

[Edit typo']

cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/4352168

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On September 1, nearly 20 Russian regions, along with Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine’s Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Luhansk regions, officially launched a preschool version of the state-sponsored “patriotic” lesson series Important Conversations. According to the independent outlet Agentstvo, kindergartens have already received teaching manuals for the extracurricular program.

Agentstvo reviewed reports from the first sessions held in kindergartens in the Ivanovo and Chelyabinsk regions. Photos from the lessons showed a textbook titled “Important Conversations for Preschoolers.”

According to Agentstvo, the book was published in 2025 with a print run of 3,000 copies as part of a series for elementary schools called “My History.” The cover features a label indicating that the textbook “complies with the federal educational program for preschool education.” The subtitle reads, “The World We Live In,” and the cover lists topics such as “Family Day,” and “What Can the Kremlin Tell Us?” The book covers 30 “important topics” in total.

The volume was co-authored by Natalia Vinogardova, a member of the Russian Academy of Sciences and Doctor of Pedagogical Sciences, and Irina Khomyakova, a Pedagogical Sciences PhD candidate. Both work at the Center for Primary General Education within the Russian Education Academy’s Institute for Education Development Strategy. The institute is also responsible for designing materials used in the Important Conversations curriculum for older students, Agentstvo notes.

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Archived version

On September 1, nearly 20 Russian regions, along with Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine’s Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Luhansk regions, officially launched a preschool version of the state-sponsored “patriotic” lesson series Important Conversations. According to the independent outlet Agentstvo, kindergartens have already received teaching manuals for the extracurricular program.

Agentstvo reviewed reports from the first sessions held in kindergartens in the Ivanovo and Chelyabinsk regions. Photos from the lessons showed a textbook titled “Important Conversations for Preschoolers.”

According to Agentstvo, the book was published in 2025 with a print run of 3,000 copies as part of a series for elementary schools called “My History.” The cover features a label indicating that the textbook “complies with the federal educational program for preschool education.” The subtitle reads, “The World We Live In,” and the cover lists topics such as “Family Day,” and “What Can the Kremlin Tell Us?” The book covers 30 “important topics” in total.

The volume was co-authored by Natalia Vinogardova, a member of the Russian Academy of Sciences and Doctor of Pedagogical Sciences, and Irina Khomyakova, a Pedagogical Sciences PhD candidate. Both work at the Center for Primary General Education within the Russian Education Academy’s Institute for Education Development Strategy. The institute is also responsible for designing materials used in the Important Conversations curriculum for older students, Agentstvo notes.

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cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/4247298

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German officials are describing the newly formed body as the “new nucleus of Germany’s security architecture”. It merges two previous bodies: Germany's Federal Security Council, responsible for arms exports and defence policy, and the Security Cabinet, convened for crisis decisions.

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Threats to European security from Russia and elsewhere required more nimble decision-making and responses, [German Chancellor Friedrich] Merz argued: "We must become faster, more creative, and more decisive by hardening our infrastructure, improving our coordination, and making our society more resilient overall."

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German officials are describing the newly formed body as the “new nucleus of Germany’s security architecture”. It merges two previous bodies: Germany's Federal Security Council, responsible for arms exports and defence policy, and the Security Cabinet, convened for crisis decisions.

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Threats to European security from Russia and elsewhere required more nimble decision-making and responses, [German Chancellor Friedrich] Merz argued: "We must become faster, more creative, and more decisive by hardening our infrastructure, improving our coordination, and making our society more resilient overall."

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