Western Intelligence Officials Report Russia Ramping Up Targeted Killings of Activists and Ukraine Supporters Across Europe

Three Western intelligence officials told AP that Russia's targeted killing campaign in Europe has expanded since 2022, now targeting Russian dissidents and Ukraine supporters in addition to military defectors. French court documents reviewed by AP show four Russian nationals surveilled activist Vladimir Osechkin's home in Biarritz in April 2025, in preparation for an assassination. Lithuanian prosecutors charged 13 people from at least seven countries over separate plots against Ukraine supporter Valdas Bartkevičius and Bashkortostan independence advocate Ruslan Gabbasov, and said the suspects were directly ordered by Russian military intelligence. A senior European intelligence official told AP the campaign carries "political authorization" from Moscow; Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told AP he saw no need to comment.