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Reuters reported on September 25th that “a British man will go on trial next year accused of providing information about factories which manufacture ​drones and offering to sabotage them on behalf ‌of Russian intelligence, a London court was told on Friday. Joshua Cammidge, 31, is charged with assisting a foreign intelligence service and preparing an ​act of sabotage after contact with the GRU ​Volunteer Corps, which prosecutors said was controlled by Russia’s ⁠GRU military intelligence agency. Prosecutor Sarah Przybylska told London’s Old ​Bailey court that Cammidge, from Swindon, west England, had exchanged ​messages with a British national who had gone to Russia to fight against Ukraine, in which Cammidge was tasked with locating drone manufacturing ​sites. “They discussed sabotaging a site and the defendant volunteered ​to carry out such sabotage,” she said. “It was clear all of this ‌was ⁠to assist the Russian war effort.” Prosecutors have also accused him of conducting research about a Wi-Fi jamming device and undertaking reconnaissance. Cammidge was not asked to enter pleas, but his lawyer ​John Oliver ​told the court ⁠he intended to deny the accusations. Oliver said there was “no intention to cause or take part ​in sabotage” and the communications between the ​men were “not ⁠to be taken seriously”. Russia’s embassy in London has not commented on the case. Cammidge was remanded in custody and will ⁠appear ​again in court to enter a ​plea in January, with the trial due to take place at Winchester Crown ​Court in April.”

Reuters reported on November 29th that “Britain’s foreign spy chief accused Russia on Friday of waging a “staggeringly reckless campaign” of sabotage in Europe while also stepping up its nuclear sabre-rattling to scare other countries off from backing Ukraine. Richard Moore, head of Britain’s Secret Intelligence Service known as MI6, said that any softening in support for Ukraine against Russia’s 2022 full-scale invasion would embolden Russian President Vladimir Putin and his allies. In what appeared a message to incoming U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration and some European allies that have questioned continued support for Ukraine in the grinding war, Moore argued that Europe and its transatlantic partners must hold firm in the face of what he said was growing aggression. “We have recently uncovered a staggeringly reckless campaign of Russian sabotage in Europe, even as Putin and his acolytes resort to nuclear sabre-rattling to sow fear about the consequences of aiding Ukraine,” he said in a speech in Paris. “The cost of supporting Ukraine is well known but the cost of not doing so would be infinitely higher. If Putin succeeds China would weigh the implications, North Korea would be emboldened and Iran would become still more dangerous.” In September, Moore said Russia’s intelligence services had gone “a bit feral” in the latest warning by NATO and other Western spy chiefs about what they call hostile Russian actions, ranging from repeated cyber attacks to Moscow-linked arson. Moscow has denied responsibility for all such incidents. The Russian embassy in London did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on Moore’s remarks.”