Russia sabotage squads ramp up attacks to spook the west

Experts say government needs to prepare for possible attacks on infrastructure after a string of operations in Europe linked to Russia

- Alexi Mostrous, Catherine Neilan & Nina Kuryata

On the morning in March after a huge substation fire shut down Europe's busiest airport, Russia’s former president posted a message to his 1.4 million followers on X. “I’m looking forward to Russia being blamed for the Heathrow fire,” he wrote. “What are you waiting for, Starmer?”

Dmitry Medvedev’s sarcasm was apposite. In the hours after the fire, social media was flooded with speculation that Moscow was responsible. A Daily Telegraph headline wondered: “If Russia was behind Heathrow fire, is that an act of war?”

In the event, investigators would conclude that the incident, which closed Heathrow for 24 hours and disrupted more than 1,300 flights, was “non-suspicious”.

Last week, fingers were pointed at Russia again after an electricity blackout in Spain and Portugal plunged more than 55 million people into darkness. But as with Heathrow, Spain's grid operator has, so far, said that a cyber-attack is unlikely.