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PET: Russia is preparing sabotage against Denmark’s defense industry
🇩🇰 Denmark /Conflict & Security

PET: Russia is preparing sabotage against Denmark’s defense industry

From Berlingske · () Danish

Translated from Danish and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Ongoing story
  • Denmark’s counterintelligence chief Emil Græsholm said Russian security services are actively preparing sabotage operations against Danish defense companies, particularly firms linked to military aid for Ukraine.
  • Græsholm said Russian services have tried to recruit ordinary Danes to gather information about factory access and security arrangements.
  • The warning follows earlier PET assessments that the threat of physical sabotage by Russia in Denmark and other European countries had increased.

Denmark’s defense industry faces a sabotage threat that the country’s counterintelligence service says is concrete enough to warrant a public warning. Emil Græsholm, head of counterintelligence at the Danish Security and Intelligence Service, said Russian security services are actively preparing operations against the sector.

Græsholm told Berlingske that the threat included possible arson. Companies connected to military assistance for Ukraine are particular targets, he said. “It is such a specific targeting and preparation that we find it necessary to go public with the message that this is a threat that must be taken seriously,” he said.

It is such a specific targeting and preparation that we find it necessary to go public with the message that this is a threat that must be taken seriously.

— Emil GræsholmDenmark’s counterintelligence chief explained why PET was publicly warning about the threat.

In comments to TV 2, Græsholm said Russia is both planning and carrying out sabotage against defense companies and the defense industry in Europe. “We see that Danish companies are also targets of concrete Russian sabotage planning, and that Russian intelligence services are actively preparing sabotage operations aimed at the defense industry in Denmark,” he said.

We see that Danish companies are also targets of concrete Russian sabotage planning, and that Russian intelligence services are actively preparing sabotage operations aimed at the defense industry in Denmark.

— Emil GræsholmGræsholm described the alleged threat to Danish defense companies in comments to TV 2.

The counterintelligence chief said the planning was concrete enough to make the authorities concerned. Russian security services have also tried to recruit “ordinary Danes” to perform tasks for Russia, including checking and reporting access and security conditions around a factory or company in Denmark.

Græsholm urged defense-industry companies to strengthen their security. PET previously said publicly that the threat of physical sabotage from Russia in Denmark and other European countries had intensified, describing the situation in May 2024 as requiring substantially heightened attention.

ordinary Danes

— Emil GræsholmHe said Russian security services had tried to recruit ordinary people in Denmark for tasks such as checking factory security.
About this summary

Originally published by Berlingske in Danish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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