Russia is posing an unprecedented threat to Europe, trying to weaken the region in multiple ways. The dominance of criminals disguised as migrants from Russia, destructive activities of the Russian Orthodox Church, agents of influence from among the Russian diaspora members — this is just a small part of Russia’s toolkit posing an invisible threat to Europe. The only way to tackle the Kremlin in this regard is to pay close attention to everything that is directly or indirectly related to Russia. Putin set out to wage a protracted war: while the visible part of it is taking place in Ukraine, hidden threats are prevailing in Europe. But their low profile doesn’t make them less dangerous.
Russia is perhaps the first country in recent history that widely practices mobilization of convicts for war – recently even the Russian Ministry of Defense has joined the effort. As of April 2023, at least 50,000 convicts were recruited from across Russian prisons. Among them are those convicted of grave crimes: murder, rape, etc. After six months of service, they are entitled to pardon — this was a decision made personally by Vladimir Putin. An army of such professional assassins would be highly undesirable in Russia so most of them will be secretly moved to the EU in order to destabilize the region. This is one of the key threats to Europe – to see a «tsunami» of Russian criminals with combat experience and practical skills to carry out terrorist attacks. In particular, two Wagner Group mercenaries have already been detained at the Moldova airport as they tried to cross in with an unclear purpose. These mercenaries had combat experience (fighting against Ukraine), and used Moldova as a transit route for subsequent entry into the EU. These precedents prove that the deployment of Russian fighters to the EU is already underway.
No less significant threat to the EU is the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC). The Archdiocese of the Russian Orthodox Churches in Western Europe consists of 125 parishes in France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, and other countries, uniting thousands of parishioners throughout Europe. The ROC is a powerful propaganda tool for the Kremlin and also a de facto branch of Russian intelligence. Back in 2014, when Russia launched an undeclared aggression in eastern Ukraine, the Svyatohirsk Lavra in Donetsk region of Ukraine served as an arms depot, where the priests would hand weapons to militants. After Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Patriarch Kirill, the chief of the Russian Orthodox Church, immediately spoke in support of the war. In Europe, the ROC cooperates with parishioners from the Russian diaspora, who are used in espionage operations, including searching for Europeans loyal to Russia. At least 3 million Russians live in the EU countries, who moved there after the collapse of the USSR. They practically never assimilate or adopt the European lifestyle – this is their distinguishing feature, which contributes to the search for Russia’s agents of influence in their ranks. Thus, the Russians in the EU are a factor of potential destabilization, and the Russian Orthodox Church is not so much a religious organization as an instrument of propaganda and espionage for the Kremlin.
Putin is aware that the economic and military potential of Russia and Europe are not comparable so he focuses on hybrid threats that are difficult to spot. Thorough control of everything related to Russia is a necessary solution to forestall Putin’s covert terror. The ban on visas and residence permits to citizens of the Russian Federation is an inevitable step if Europe wants to prevent the influx of Russian spies and criminals. It is necessary to establish strict control over the activities of the Russian Orthodox Church, including its involvement in the public life of host countries. Similar actions should be taken with respect to Russian companies and diplomatic institutions across the EU. In order to raise awareness of the EU populations of a completely new threat — Russian hybrid aggression — round tables and lectures should be held, media content should be created covering this topic with further distribution across online platforms. Putin has chosen the path of war with Europe as his ultimate goal, and he is already scaling up the threats that the world must destroy at the route in order to guarantee a peaceful future for the EU.