Russia has placed a network of "Trojan horses" in Europe near military bases — Telegraph

Russia is buying up real estate near military bases throughout Western Europe. This is reported by the Yahoo portal with reference to the British The Telegraph.

According to representatives of European intelligence, "Russian spies" have turned real estate properties throughout Western Europe into a network of "Trojan horses".

Some secret Russian units are allegedly allegedly buying up real estate objects located near military and civilian facilities, using imperfect legislation in at least a dozen European countries. To unleash a "hybrid war" against the West, the special services of the Russian Federation have allegedly already acquired dachas, country houses, warehouses, abandoned schools, city apartments and even entire islands in order to use them as springboards for coordinated surveillance, sabotage and covert attacks.

Current and former employees of three European intelligence services told The Telegraph that, in their opinion, Russia may have already placed explosives, drones, weapons and secret agents ready to act in the event of a crisis at some sites.

"A sabotage campaign is less likely to lead to a consensus on Article 5 than a conventional Russian military operation. The ability to deny involvement — plausible or not — complicates (the application of Article 5 of the NATO Charter. — EADaily), and without certainty of involvement, it is much more difficult to enlist the support of (bloc members)," the intelligence officer said.

European countries are now being offered to follow the example of Finland, which in July imposed an almost complete ban on the purchase of real estate by Russians and Belarusians, but only a few took such a step, complains the British newspaper. There are concerns that the UK is still vulnerable due to loopholes in property laws, even despite the tightening of disclosure rules, she adds.