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The Russian intelligence apparatus has significantly changed its modus operandi in Europe, shifting to more aggressive and high-risk espionage operations. According to an Associated Press report, Moscow's main focus is on stealing Western industrial technologies and defense secrets, in order to support its war-torn economy and secure military advantages.
Targeting fighter jets and dual-use technologies,
Christoffer Wedelin, deputy chief of operations at the Swedish Security Service (Säpo), stated that Russian agents operating abroad have accurate knowledge of the needs of the Russian military-industrial complex.
"They know exactly what they need," Wedelin said, adding that Moscow is investing significant efforts to provide advanced industrial machinery, modern production equipment, and dual-use, civilian and military technological research.
In Sweden, the main target of Russian intelligence is the defense sector. Of particular interest are advanced national weapons projects, including the Saab JAS 39 Gripen fighter jet.
Russian operatives are also seeking to secure civilian camera and laser systems technology, which could be adapted for Russian navigation and weapons guidance systems.
Space and quantum technologies are targeted.
The Director of the Finnish Security and Intelligence Service (Supo), Juha Martelius, stated that Russia is trying to fill the technological gap created by international isolation.
According to him, Moscow aims to steal advanced scientific research to keep pace with the West or gain an advantage in the future.
Martelius identified several sectors that are under direct threat. Among them are space technologies, which Russia considers essential for recovering and improving its capabilities in satellite imaging, military communications, and battlefield navigation.
Also, Russian intelligence is trying to provide quantum technologies and related systems to the Arctic regions, with the aim of strengthening the country's strategic position in the geopolitically important northern areas.
Another target is maritime navigation technologies, which have become difficult to obtain due to long-standing trade embargoes that have limited Russia's shipbuilding and naval capabilities.
Networks of shell companies and covert operations
To evade export controls imposed by the West, Russia is using a complex network of supply mechanisms.
According to the report, these include using state-backed hackers to penetrate company databases, recruiting local intermediaries, and creating shell companies in neutral countries.
One such case was uncovered in May, when Swedish police arrested two people linked to a shell company in Turkey that had organized dozens of illegal shipments of advanced metalworking machinery to Russia.
Moscow takes more risks
According to Western intelligence representatives, a new characteristic of Russian espionage is a willingness to take greater risks.
"They are no longer so concerned about the possibility of exposure. That is precisely why they are willing to take greater risks to achieve their objectives," Wedelin said.
The economic crisis is pushing the Kremlin towards industrial espionage
Experts believe that the intensification of industrial espionage is a direct consequence of the structural problems facing the Russian economy.
Four years of international sanctions have significantly limited Russia's access to European scientific research, industrial components, and basic computer software.
The lack of advanced technologies is emerging at a time when the Kremlin faces huge financial pressures.
An internal Russian government document revealed that Finance Minister Anton Siluanov has warned that rising military spending is putting unsustainable pressure on the federal budget.
For 2026, Russia has planned to spend 16.84 trillion rubles (about $238 billion) on defense and security, or nearly 40 percent of all state spending.
As a result, during the first four months of the year alone, a budget deficit of 5.9 trillion rubles ($82 billion) was recorded, the highest level since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
As the liquidity of Russian companies deteriorates and state-owned banks try to hide problematic loans to avoid financial panic, the Kremlin has placed absolute priority on financing the military sector at the expense of civilian sectors.
According to Western intelligence assessments, the inability to develop next-generation technologies in the face of the financial crisis is increasingly pushing the Russian state to rely on espionage agencies to steal the technologies and industrial infrastructure it needs to keep its war machine running.
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