New in SpyWeek: Return to Cold War-level Espionage Battles with Russia

European states under siege from Russian spies, assassins, saboteurs and cyber war launch counter-espionage and agent recruiting projects

Moldovan President Maia Sandu: The Russians are here. (Getty)

On the Western Front: “Several European countries are recruiting spies in Russia again.” So claimed El Mundo, Spain’s leading paper of record, in a story by its resident historian and veteran war correspondent Alberto Rojas. In response to a dramatic uptick in “the activity of Russian intelligence, espionage, and sabotage in Europe today,” Rojas writes, “the secret services of several countries on the continent have gone on the offensive. They are no longer just monitoring Kremlin intrusions into their security systems or recruiting individuals in need of funds via Telegram to carry out certain tasks in exchange for cryptocurrencies. Now they want to rebuild networks on the other side of the new Iron Curtain.”