Attempt to start WW3 No. 10,563
Putin Plotting 'Physical Attacks' On West, UK Intelligence Warns, Amid Spate Of Mystery Arsons
A top British intelligence official has issued a new alarmist warning concerning the 'Russian threat' to the West. Anne Keast-Butler, who for the last year has headed up the UK's GCHQ, or signals intelligence operations (which is the equivalent of America's NSA), has warned in her first major speech that President Putin is plotting "physical attacks" against Western targets.
Addressing cyber security experts in Birmingham, the GCHQ director claimed that Moscow is busy "nurturing and inspiring" groups of cyber attackers, and is even "in some cases seemingly coordinating physical attacks against the West."
She said that alongside Russia, China poses an "epoch-defining" risk to long-term UK national security as well. She admitted that currently China is taking up "more resource… than any other single mission" at GCHQ.
But ultimately she focused the speech on British intelligence being "increasingly concerned about growing links between the Russian intelligence services and proxy groups to conduct cyber-attacks – as well as suspected physical surveillance and sabotage operations."
She also said at a moment the major new Kharkiv offensive is underway that "Putin has not given up on his maximalist goal of subjugating the population of Ukraine."
Her dire assessment comes as the British government is seeking to crack down on Russian diplomatic sites in the UK which are suspected of being dual Russian intelligence hubs.
There have also been recent new accusations of specific attacks on UK infrastructure being linked to Russia. For example The Telegraph writes that "Last week, a British man was charged with an arson attack in London and accused by prosecutors of working for Wagner Group, the Russian paramilitary organization."
The same report notes that "Russia has long been accused of protecting cyber gangs that target Western organizations, allowing them to operate with relative impunity as they carry out sophisticated hacks."
"Last week, the National Crime Agency named Dmitry Khoroshev, a Russian national, as the person behind LockBit – a ransomware group that had stolen hundreds of millions of pounds from businesses," The Telegraph continues.
There are other locations in Europe where recent 'mystery fire
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/putin-plotting-physical-attacks-west-uk-intelligence-warns-amid-spate-mystery-arsons