The West has long been concerned about a full-scale war between Nato and Russia. Vladimir Putin has often threatened to respond aggressively if provoked. But what about the low-level campaign of harassment and interference long underway?
Causing a nuisance can be a powerful weapon. Tuesday’s statement by Anne Keast-Butler, director of the UK’s electronic intelligence service GCHQ, that Russia is “relentlessly” targeting British and European critical infrastructure as part of its hybrid operations, must have come as no surprise to Defence Secretary John Healey.
Last week, Healey’s plane was subjected to GPS jamming while flying back from Estonia. His Dassault 900LX Falcon was flying back from Tartu when it was subjected to jamming that disrupted its GPS location system and left the passengers unable to connect their phones and laptops to the internet.
Shorts
The Falcon, a civilian aircraft flown by the RAF, had not been fitted with special protective systems. This generated much furore about it being “defenceless”, with Tory MP Ben Obese-Jecty writing on social media that it was “absurd that the Defence Secretary is flying close to Russian airspace in an aircraft incapable of defending itself”.
