Intelligence agencies are raising concerns over Russia’s escalating use of sabotage and covert operations against nations backing Ukraine, marking a shift toward a more aggressive "shadow war" that avoids direct military confrontation. These hybrid attacks, deliberately kept below the threshold for a formal response, aim to undermine support for Ukraine without triggering broader conflict. Meanwhile, informal discussions at the UN General Assembly are expected to focus heavily on the growing tensions, as global leaders grapple with the blurred lines between conventional warfare and covert influence. The strategy highlights Russia’s willingness to test limits while keeping its actions ambiguous.
In today’s newsletter: Intelligence chiefs warn that Russia’s appetite for risk is growing, as sabotage and other covert attacks target countries supporting UkraineGood morning. As the UN general assembly kicks off in New York later today, we anticipate a heavy focus on the ongoing conflicts in Iran, Ukraine and the Gulf – as well as the inevitable body language analysis of Andy Burnham’s first in-person meeting with Donald Trump.But another related conflict is likely to dominate informal discussions: the intensifying acts of sabotage on European states that are believed to trace back to Russia but deliberately fall below the threshold for military response – a so-called hybrid or “shadow war” with the singular purpose of disrupting support for Ukraine.Yemen | The UK has agreed to provide defensive air support to Saudi Arabia to help counter Houthi fighters and restore stability in the Middle East while driving down the cost of living at home, Andy Burnham has said, ahead of his first meeting with Donald Trump.Environment | The “jaw-dropping” El Niño currently heating up the planet has burst through the highest temperature ever recorded for the phenomenon, several months before its expected peak.Gaza | Israeli and UK military commanders could be requested to give evidence to an inquest concerning three British aid workers killed in Gaza when aid vehicles they were travelling in were hit by an airstrike.US | After President Trump’s snap decision to ban CNN from the White House, the four other networks that comprise the White House’s TV pool decided they would cease their pooled coverage of the president.Slavery | Bones of the enslaver Edward Colston are likely to remain interred in a church in Bristol if and when the currently unused building is given a new lease of life as a community resource, it has emerged. Continue reading...
