Several U.S. national security agencies have stopped their coordinated efforts to combat Russian sabotage, disinformation, and cyberattacks, which reduces pressure on Moscow. This shift occurs as the Trump Administration urges Russia to cease its war in Ukraine. Last year, former President Joe Biden instructed his national security team to create working groups to address the issue, following warnings from U.S. intelligence about Russia intensifying its covert conflict against Western countries.
A shadow war refers to a hidden form of conflict that occurs in the gray area between war and peace, where various actors use different tactics to achieve their objectives. Seven former officials involved in these working groups informed Reuters that the initiative was spearheaded by the president’s National Security Council (NSC) and included at least seven national security agencies collaborating with European allies to thwart threats aimed at Europe and the U.S. Former U.S. officials noted that before President Donald Trump took office, his transition team was briefed by Biden’s officials about these efforts and encouraged to keep an eye on Russia’s hybrid warfare tactics. However, since Trump’s inauguration on January 20, much of this work has stalled, according to eleven current and former officials who requested anonymity to discuss sensitive information. Reuters is the first to reveal the full scope of the Biden administration’s efforts and how various U.S. agencies have since paused their activities on this matter. Meetings between the National Security Council and European security officials have not been scheduled, and the NSC has ceased formal coordination among U.S. agencies, including the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security, and the State Department, according to the current and former officials.
The halt in the collaborative efforts among various agencies coincides with Trump’s significant shifts in U.S. policy regarding Europe and Ukraine, raising concerns among both current and former officials in the U.S. and Europe that Ukraine might be compelled to accept a truce that favors Russia. In recent weeks, Trump has made remarks and taken policy actions that seem to align with Russian interests, attracting criticism from both Democratic and some Republican circles. Nevertheless, the president contends that the situation in Ukraine could escalate into World War III, asserting that fostering better relations with Russia serves America’s strategic goals. On Tuesday, following an extensive phone conversation between the two leaders, Putin accepted Trump’s proposal for a 30-day cessation of attacks on each other’s energy infrastructure, as reported by the Kremlin. Some analysts have expressed to Reuters that scaling back efforts to counter Moscow’s hybrid warfare tactics could pose significant risks for the U.S. Kori Schake, director of foreign and defense policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute, a Washington-based think tank, remarked, “We’re choosing to blind ourselves to potential acts of war against us,” highlighting her concerns regarding Trump’s interactions with Putin. Over the past three years, Russia has enlisted criminals from various European nations to carry out sabotage operations, including arson, attempted assassinations, and bomb placements on cargo planes. Additionally, Russian influence campaigns and cyber operations have been employed to undermine support for Ukraine, according to Western intelligence officials. These officials noted a decline in the number of sabotage incidents attributed to Russia by the end of 2024 but cautioned that they anticipate Moscow will persist with its hybrid warfare tactics as long as Western support for Ukraine remains. When questioned about the pause in some of Washington’s efforts to monitor its hybrid warfare initiatives, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated that the Trump administration was aiming to eliminate “everything ineffective, corrupt, and implausible,” a move he deemed “understandable.”
The Western accusations that Russia is involved in sabotage in the U.S. and Europe, he said, are “baseless and fleeting” and unsupported. Moscow’s intelligence services launched a clandestine operation to undermine the U.S.-led effort to aid Kyiv’s defense after Russian soldiers invaded Ukraine three years ago, six Western intelligence and national security sources told Reuters. Since the onset of Russia’s full-scale invasion, Congress has allocated $175 billion in aid to Ukraine. In the spring of 2024, Moscow’s attempts to retaliate against the West intensified, marked by arson incidents across Europe, including one targeting a warehouse in London linked to a Ukrainian-born businessman. In November, six individuals faced charges of aggravated arson in a British court for this incident, with at least two admitting to receiving payments from a foreign intelligence agency. A trial is scheduled to commence in June. In light of this increase in activity, President Biden instructed his national security agencies to enhance intelligence sharing with European counterparts and establish task forces to counter Russian operations and prevent attacks on U.S. soil, according to former U.S. officials. American intelligence, in collaboration with domestic law enforcement, determined that Moscow aimed to target not only Russian dissidents globally but also civilians aiding Ukraine’s military efforts. The U.S. informed Germany of Russia’s plot to assassinate the CEO of Rheinmetall, a German arms manufacturer supplying weapons to Ukraine, as stated by two former senior U.S. officials. German authorities intervened to thwart the plan. Rheinmetall has chosen not to comment on the matter. By late summer, the National Security Council organized both in-person and virtual meetings with European national security officials to exchange intelligence on threats in Europe and coordinate investigations, according to four former senior U.S. officials.
A memo created by the U.S. and the U.K. at the close of 2024 recommended that law enforcement agencies in European nations enhance their collaboration to monitor criminal networks involved in sabotage activities. It also suggested that European governments diminish their diplomatic presence in Moscow to compel Russia to reduce its personnel in European embassies, according to two senior U.S. officials. Some of these measures are still being debated among European nations, as noted by a former senior U.S. official. The British embassy in Washington did not provide a comment when approached. Unlike its Western allies, the Trump administration is currently negotiating with Moscow to potentially increase Russia’s diplomatic presence in Washington, according to one senior U.S. official. The White House has not responded to inquiries regarding the memo or the potential expansion of Russia’s diplomatic presence. U.S. agencies, including the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), have been monitoring Russian influence operations and ransomware attacks targeting U.S. critical infrastructure for several years. Under Biden’s administration, leading cybersecurity officials coordinated an interagency effort to inform European countries about Russia’s attempts to sway local elections and strategies to counter Moscow’s threats to national security systems, as stated by a former senior U.S. official. The Romanian constitutional court annulled the victory of the far-right, pro-Putin candidate, Calin Georgescu, in the first round of the presidential election in November after declassified Romanian intelligence reports suggested possible Russian interference—a decision that faced criticism from Trump’s Vice President JD Vance. Both Georgescu and Moscow have denied any involvement in meddling.
CISA Deputy Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin informed Reuters that the agency has placed certain personnel from its election security team, who were focused on misinformation and disinformation, on administrative leave, though she did not provide further details. McLaughlin emphasized that CISA is dedicated to combating all cyber threats to critical U.S. infrastructure, particularly those originating from Russia. In a demonstration of collaboration under the Biden administration, teams from the State Department and other agencies were sent to assist European nations in investigating damage to several vital undersea cables. One such team traveled to Copenhagen in December after Finland detained a tanker suspected of intentionally dragging its anchor across the Baltic Sea floor to harm cable networks, according to both a former and a current senior U.S. official. The tanker, known as the Eagle S, is thought by Western intelligence officials to be part of a covert fleet used by Russia to circumvent oil sanctions. Russia has denied any involvement in the recent incidents affecting the cables. However, some Western intelligence and national security officials warn that no definitive evidence links Moscow directly to the recent cable-cutting events. In mid-2024, U.S. agencies gathered intelligence indicating that Russia might plan to detonate an incendiary device on a cargo or passenger aircraft over American airspace, raising concerns within the U.S., as reported by multiple former officials. One former senior U.S. official remarked, “That posed a significantly different psychological threat compared to sabotage operations in Europe that were damaging property. Bringing down planes represents an entirely different level of risk.” Despite the lack of concrete evidence that Moscow had planned an attack within the United States, the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security created plans for domestic agencies to improve cargo screening as it entered the nation.
U.S. officials expressed significant concern, prompting President Biden to instruct his national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, and CIA Director Bill Burns to communicate with Putin and his senior aides. They warned that if the campaign persisted, particularly within the U.S., Washington might designate Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism, a classification that would further alienate its economy from the global market. The New York Times was the first to report on the discussions between Biden’s team and the Kremlin. Since those meetings, there have been no attacks on U.S. soil, and reports indicate a decline in sabotage incidents across Europe by the end of 2024. Three Western intelligence officials attributed this decrease, at least in part, to the heightened vigilance of Western governments and improved coordination between Europe and the U.S. Nevertheless, several Western intelligence officials believe that Russia is likely to persist with its campaign as long as the U.S. and Europe maintain their support for Ukraine.
U.S. officials expressed significant concern, prompting President Biden to instruct his national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, and CIA Director Bill Burns to communicate with Putin and his senior aides. They warned that if the campaign persisted, particularly within the U.S., Washington might designate Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism, a classification that would further alienate its economy from the global market. The New York Times was the first to report on the discussions between Biden’s team and the Kremlin. Since those meetings, there have been no attacks on U.S. soil, and reports indicate a decline in sabotage incidents across Europe by the end of 2024. Three Western intelligence officials attributed this decrease, at least in part, to the heightened vigilance of Western governments and improved coordination between Europe and the U.S. Nevertheless, several Western intelligence officials believe that Russia is likely to persist with its campaign as long as the U.S. and Europe maintain their support for Ukraine.
(Reuters/NAN)
