According to the Financial times Russia is plotting sabotage across Europe, intelligence agencies warn. Assessments suggest that Kremlin agents are preparing covert bombings, arson, and attacks on infrastructure.
The European intelligence agencies have warned that in a escalation of the Ukraine/Russian war #Putin has planned violent sabotage attacks on western democracies. These attacks will not be #cyberattacks they will be covert bombings, arson attacks and attacks on infrastructure. These attacks will happen on European soil and the probability of the loss of lives is of little concern to the #Russians.
But sure, Ireland has nothing to worry about aren’t we a #Neutral country. No one would hurt us as we are known for our peacekeeping roles throughout the world. Are people so naive that they actually believe this claptrap? What will it take for the message to hit home? Already there have been arrests in Germany for plotting an attack on a military installation and in the UK two men were charged with starting a fire at a warehouse storing shipments of aid for Ukraine. There have been attempts to destroy the rail signalling system in the Czech Republic and there has been an attack on a Ministers car in Estonia.
Many of our friends in Europe are warning that an attack on EU soil is no longer a possibility but more likely a probability. Ireland has not taken defence seriously for decades and the latest efforts fall far short of what is required for a #neutral country to command the respect of its friends let alone its enemies. I hear some politicians and many members of the public express concerns about Ireland joining #NATO. Let’s get real here membership of NATO requires a country to spend at least 2% of GDP on defence some countries are spending far more. Ireland spends a paltry 0.2% we have one ship patrolling our vast Atlantic EZ and our Air Corps is struggling due to the lack of maintenance crews.
What will give our government the wake-up call in needs to get real about defence and security. Both our #defenceforces and #Garda have their members using their feet to send a message to government that they have lost confidence. As a country we will pay a high price for this neglect I just hope we do not learn the hard way.