‘Russia’s war against Europe is already underway,’ says the British Defence Secretary. Putin’s espionage

The British Defence Minister, Wes Streeting, told the Financial Times yesterday that he prefers to describe Russia’s hybrid threats against Europe as ‘state-sponsored terrorism’: Vladimir Putin says he does not want to wage war on Europe, but he is already doing so. NATO’s industrial base, says Streeting, is too weak, and the UK in particular must transition to a war-ready economy, because under these conditions, even if funds can be allocated, they cannot be spent at the necessary speed. The minister is convinced that direct talks with the Kremlin are needed; he advocates for “a confidential channel” that is military as well as diplomatic, because the risk of “miscalculating” with Putin is high. 

The desire to create a direct channel has absorbed most commentators, but Streeting’s message is quite different: Russia’s war against Europe is already underway, consisting of false alarms, sabotage, attempted attacks and espionage. On Tuesday, a 41-year-old American serviceman suspected of being a Russian spy was arrested: the arrest took place in the Gloucester area, home to numerous military installations, such as the Royal Air Force’s Fairford base (used by the Americans), which had already been the target of a previous attempted attack in late September, and the headquarters of NATO’s Rapid Reaction Force.

British counter-terrorism authorities are working with the FBI, whose director, Kash Patel, has praised the collaboration between allies, in stark contrast to his superiors in the Trump administration. There is no longer any certainty of mutual assistance, having been undermined by President Donald Trump, but on the operational front, things are proceeding in a less convoluted manner, and indeed, on Tuesday, the US Department of Justice charged three men with terrorism-related offences; they are considered the masterminds behind the ‘terrorist plot’ against the Fairford base, carried out by two British nationals who appeared in court in October – the lead in this case points to Iran: only Trump continues to ignore the Russian-Iranian axis against the West, including America.

Espionage is a significant component of Russian acts of war: according to the Ministry of Defence, Russian maritime activity around the United Kingdom increased by 41 per cent in the first nine months of 2026 compared with last year. Russian vessels are mapping British undersea infrastructure in order to obtain a clear picture of targets to strike. This is why the so-called ‘alliance of beer-drinking nations’ (the British have not lost their sense of humour), namely the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, the Baltic states and the Nordic countries, has stepped up the interoperability of its maritime drones and warships, so as to be ready wherever the front line of this war – which Russia has long been waging in the northern seas – may lie.

In London, isolation is no longer an option: Russia’s war against Ukraine has created an urgent need to forge new alliances for collective security, whilst Trump’s destabilising influence has made Europe all the more essential. Prime Minister Andy Burnham has reframed the debate on the UK’s rapprochement with the European Union in a more decisive and structured manner than his predecessor Keir Starmer: Burnham is prepared to break Brexit-related taboos, has cast caution aside, and appears capable of bearing the political cost of this initiative. Yesterday, former Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron – who called the Brexit referendum in the mistaken belief that leaving the EU would be rejected – said in an interview with Bloomberg that it is madness for Burnham to reopen the Brexit wound because the UK’s economic problems are structural; it is wrong to attribute them solely to the break-up with the EU. But the risks are now greater than they were during the Brexit negotiations: there are forces that are squeezing the European continent, and finding oneself alone at the centre of this vice is not in Britain’s national interest.