The United Kingdom and Germany are set to launch a joint partnership to counter sabotage and cyberattacks especially at a time when European countries are grappling with an escalating Russian hybrid threat in the wake of supporting Ukraine in a war against Moscow.
The announcement of partnership will come after the meeting of Prime Minister Andy Burnham and Chancellor Friedrich Merz in Berlin on Thursday shortly after both leaders warned of a hybrid threat from Russia.
According to statement issued by Downing Street, the new joint partnership initiative will aim at sharing information and “coordinating action to monitor, deter and disrupt threats to critical infrastructure or via cyber attacks and sabotage.”
The UK has highlighted the severe hybrid threats posed to Europe and international interests by foreign adversaries, with a primary focus on “Russia.”
Consequently, British ministers initiated targeted threat briefings last month for key defence contractors and operators of critical national infrastructure.
The partnership comes after various European countries including Germany and Denmark warned of Russia’s increasing hybrid attacks against countries.
German spy chief Martin Jaeger, head of the Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND) last week warned, “The confrontation we are facing with Russia has taken on a new, more dangerous dimension.”
“Germany is in danger of becoming embroiled in a violent conflict with Russia – the attempted attack in Leipzig is just one example,” he said.
Prior to that stark warning, Denmark intelligence services’ threat assessment report warned of escalating Russia’s hybrid threats in coming months.
When it comes to the Kremlin response, Russia denied such allegations related to shadow war and hybrid warfare. Russian President Vladimir Putin said, “We are not threatening anyone. We have no intention of attacking anyone – whether in 2029, 2030 or 2050 – but if we are subjected to aggression, we will have no choice but to respond.”
