Moscow accuses Kyiv of plotting attacks on Russian diplomatic missions in Europe

MOSCOW

Russia on Wednesday accused Kyiv of planning a series of sabotage operations to shift blame onto Moscow and pressure Washington into abandoning its ongoing dialogue to end the war in Ukraine.

In a statement, the Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) alleged terrorist attacks were being plotted against Russian diplomatic missions in several European countries, most likely in Germany, the Baltic states, and Scandinavian nations.

According to the SVR, these countries were chosen because their cooperation with Russia is at its lowest within the EU, and counterterrorism contacts between their intelligence services and Moscow have largely been severed.

The agency claimed that Hungary and Slovakia could also be targeted, suggesting that attacks in these nations would serve an additional purpose -- discrediting EU members that take a "special position" on the Ukrainian conflict.

On Feb. 11, Russian intelligence warned that Kyiv was preparing to detonate a foreign vessel in the Baltic Sea and launch attacks on Russian opposition figures and business leaders living abroad. The SVR asserted that such actions were aimed at provoking NATO into restricting Russia's access to the Baltic Sea under the pretext of ensuring maritime security.