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Russia recruits right-wing extremists to carry out attacks in the West

“As far as Putin is concerned, Ukraine is doing what it is told.

“When he sees Russian factories being attacked, he sees the hands of the CIA, NATO.

“If you don’t kill people and don’t attack infrastructure, it shows that there are still political limits at the moment.

“Even though Putin talks about a war against the West, in reality he doesn’t want open conflict.

“So Russia is using operations that remain just below the threshold.”

A government spokesman said: “The government is actively deterring and defending against the full spectrum of threats posed by Russia, working with our allies.”

“We recently announced that we were expelling the Russian defense attaché and withdrawing diplomatic status from several Russian premises as part of a package to strengthen defenses against Russian malign activity across the UK and Europe.”

“This is the toughest package of bilateral measures imposed on Russia since Salisbury, and stands alongside the significant powers in the National Security Act 2023 that are already being used to protect us from state threats.”

“In addition to the US and Australia, we have also sanctioned a senior Russia-based leader of LockBit, once one of the most damaging cybercrime gangs in the world.”