Denmark Warns Ukrainians of Russian Sabotage Recruitment

The Danish Security and Intelligence Service, PET, said on October 29 that Russian intelligence services are planning and preparing sabotage in Denmark. Its new campaign seeks to reach Ukrainians who could be approached to carry out apparently ordinary paid assignments.

These might involve photographing a warehouse, checking access to business premises or collecting information about employees. According to PET, intermediaries can present such work as journalism, market research or routine documentation while concealing the intended use.

Emil Græsholm, PET’s head of counterintelligence, said people could become involved while remaining unaware of the organisation directing them. The campaign is being distributed in cooperation with the Ukrainian embassy and Danish immigration authorities.

Protecting people from exploitation

PET’s accompanying guidance describes circumstances that recruiters may exploit, including financial hardship and concern for relatives still in Ukraine. It presents the warning as a means of protecting people against manipulation.

The service also identifies a second possible Russian objective: damaging Ukrainian refugees’ reputation by creating the impression that they support sabotage.

Requests for secrecy, anonymous payments and evasive explanations about the employer are among the warning signs described in the guidance. Such circumstances warrant caution and further checking.

PET advises people approached with suspicious assignments to preserve messages, usernames and other evidence, then contact the police. That advice also applies when someone has already completed an assignment and subsequently becomes concerned about its purpose.

The warning therefore reaches beyond potential physical attacks. It addresses the preparatory work through which photographs, observations and personal information can become useful to an intelligence service.