Risk of World War III because of Putin – Media on Western intelligence assessments

Western intelligence agencies are recording a shift in Moscow's tactics: the Kremlin is focusing on hybrid sabotage, cyberattacks, and destabilizing NATO. Poland and France are urgently strengthening their borders and air defenses. Russia's economy shows signs of strain: the budget deficit has nearly doubled its targets, inflation is rising, and covert mobilization is not compensating for frontline losses.

Western intelligence agencies, according to Daily Express and The Independent, are recording a shift in Kremlin tactics: from conventional military operations to large-scale hybrid sabotage, cyberattacks, and destabilization within NATO countries. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk warned of preparations for covert operations disguised as random incidents. Warsaw scrambled fighter jets due to missile strikes on Ukrainian border areas and is accelerating the strengthening of its air defenses. French President Emmanuel Macron ordered the protection of critical infrastructure from potential sabotage, including drone strikes and attacks on undersea cables and pipelines. ISW analysts doubt an open mobilization of 300,000 people, noting the Kremlin's reliance on covert mobilization and contracts with citizens who have debts or legal issues. The economic backdrop: GDP growth has slowed, the budget deficit has nearly doubled its annual targets, the central bank maintains a high key interest rate, and oil revenues remain the only reliable source of funding, but economists call the model unsustainable.