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Far-right French and Spanish leaders appear together in Ceuta, Germany detains two Turks who set fire to Starlink station in Poland and the trial of a Ukrainian officer suspected of Nord Stream sabotage begins

Far-right French and Spanish leaders appear together in Ceuta, Germany detains two Turks who set fire to Starlink station in Poland and the trial of a Ukrainian officer suspected of Nord Stream sabotage begins

This week I was in Poland for the Warsaw Security Forum, one of the initial inspirations for our efforts but several years back, when it was still the beginning of a focus on the frontline states and the community of people around Eastern European security was far smaller than it is today. After all, there once was a war on terror and those focusing on areas of geographical concern of great relevance to the Cold War time frame were left to work quietly while Afghanistan and Iraq consumed global headlines. To be a university student in Poland 22 years ago was to be far from the news, except for when Dick Cheney came to Auschwitz for the 60th anniversary of the death camp's liberation dressed like a child. 

Now, Poland is a powerhouse of an economy and the small forum east of Munich has now grown big into a mini-Munich. Last year, there were over 2,000 people who attended; this year more than 3,000 were there. Spotting a familiar face among the old expert class of a region the post-Cold War period forgot is a much harder task among the throngs of mid-levels of NATO officials everywhere. Nonetheless, I did get in some face time with old men friends and new acquaintances and felt I could honor my late father by being around some of those he adored in life. 

The Warsaw Security Forum was once an energizing annual affair, but now it is a bit more crowded and harder to get into things. The days when it felt like hanging with one high-level friend who is a former head of state with the Belarusian opposition around and being mildly star struck to see Washington Post columnist and spy novel author David Ignatius approach the bar is over. Now there are ministers everywhere and so many TV stand up spots, one has overtaken half the bar. As I was lamenting the perceived diminishing returns with this friend, a former American general and Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) approached and then things got interesting and such thoughts were quietly put to rest.

At what is now a pan-European event and beyond, it is easy to see which countries are real and serious and which are, well, like the Belgians, concerned about TikTok, or the Swiss, convening a committee to invite universities to talk about disinformation before going to the media with their findings. Ooooh, that will stop a security catastrophe from happening! And what's more, catch up, those were the conversations five, ten years ago. The timeline has moved on; unserious nations have not.

Among the Alpine countries, perhaps only Germany has understood the moment and offered up a reason to feel great trepidation as it comes back into its own as a military power with the rise of Alternativ für Deutschland or AfD. France is awash in its own internal disorder, a hellscape ahead of a major national election next year. Everyone else, it seems, is snoozing or navel gazing or simply has not understood their own fundamental irrelevance in the larger picture of European security today.

Which is to say, some countries have taken the challenges seriously and are offering solutions that have some basis in reality. Others are splintering off into extremism as a way to protect the nation with an iron shield of hate. The result is polarization, which is easier to condemn than it is to do much about beyond some early prudent advice: look around for unlikely allies now. However unlike in Ukraine, where the theater kids went to war and a ballet star was among the first to die on the battlefield, who do Europeans in nations a bit back from the frontline imagine fighting first? Besides Ukrainians, of course?

One thing that stands out from the week is the need to prepare. Not just for catastrophe but like Leszek Balcerowicz working quietly on an economic transition plan for Poland when there was still a communist regime in place. At least in Switzerland, the Swiss voted against the so-called neutrality initiative because in addition to it behind a bad idea, the Swiss understood that at least in theory, one must prepare ahead of time for what comes next.

So now comes the question of what to do to prepare. Ukraine is in dire shape. The new jet powered Geran drones are devastating. The Patriot interceptors are over. The winter is coming. Is anyone in Europe besides the frontline states ready? Wishful thinking and feelings are of no concern to Russians, Chinese, Iranians, North Koreans. Participation trophies are nice and all, but they will not hold back the floodgates of hell or prevent the cancer of authoritarianism from taking hold.

And on that cheery note, welcome to the Alpine Security Monitor. We urge you to subscribe (and become a paid subscriber!) for weekly updates on security and geopolitics as it concerns the Alpine region, namely Austria, Czechia, France, Germany, Italy, Slovenia and Switzerland (ok, little Liechtenstein and Monaco too when merited).

 

CEUTA, SPAIN – French, Spanish far-right leaders appear together after migrant incident

  • Politico reports Monday that French far-right presidential candidate Jordan Bardella and the head of Spain's far-right Vox party, Santiago Abascal, appeared together in Ceuta, Spain weeks after an incident in which thousands of migrants attempted to enter the Spain's North African enclave.
  • On X, Bardella called Ceuta, "a martyred city of mass immigration". Abascal praised the "collaboration among patriotic forces" and said his country's snap elections on November 27 "will allow the Spanish people to speak their mind," even as his party polls third at 18%. France's presidential election is next year.
  • Bardella and Abascal had "closed-door meetings on their campaign strategy" scheduled.

 

BERLIN, GERMANY – Germany detains two Turks for Poland on suspicion of Starlink arson

  • Deutsche Welle reports Monday that Polish authorities arrested "two Turkish citizens in Germany in connection with alleged sabotage of a Starlink station last month" which Prime Minister Donald Tusk called "an act of 'hybrid warfare.'"
  • Starlink "is widely used by the military of Poland's neighbor Ukraine" in its fight against Russian aggression. It was unclear "where or when the two men were allegedly detained in Germany."
  • The head of Poland's Special Services Minister Tomasz Siemoniak blamed Russia for the incident.

 

HAMBURG, GERMANY – Trial of Ukrainian suspected of NordStream sabotage begins

  • The Financial Times reports Wednesday that the trial of Serhii Kuznietsov, "A former Ukrainian embassy officer accused by German authorities of leading the group of saboteurs that blew up Russia's Nord Stream pipelines", began in the northern German city of Hamburg.
  • "The 50-year-old former intelligence officer was a captain in Ukraine's military at the time of the explosions, which ruptured the Russian-owned Nord Stream 1 and 2 undersea gas pipelines in one of the most daring acts of sabotage in Europe" since World War II. Naturally, "Kuznietsov has denied involvement in the plot."
  • As The FT points out, "The attack laid bare Europe's dependence on Russian energy, above all Germany's". While "Evidence has steadily mounted that Ukrainian intelligence services may have been involved", the "German police say" the mission "was a highly professional and dangerous operation."

 

FRANKFURT, GERMANY – Two convicted of trying to kill Jewish leaders on behalf of Iran

  • Reuters reports Thursday that two men received sentences of up to 8.5 years "for planning to kill the leader of a Jewish organization in Germany," with one of the men "steered by Iran's intelligence service."
  • The targets of the 2025 intended assassination plot were Josef Schuster, the President of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, and Volker Beck, the Chairman of the German-Israeli Society.
  • The two convicted men are Danish national Ali S. and Afghan national Tawab M., both identified with a single letter surname according to strict German privacy law. Ali S. was allegedly recruited by the Iranians and received the stiffer sentence while Tawab M. was sentenced to four and a half years for his involvement.

 

PARIS, FRANCE – Supermarkets nationwide hit by cyber attack elevating fridge temps

  • The Financial Times reports Tuesday that a cyber attack on Sunday which "forced" fridges in supermarkets nationwide to stop cooling and heat up, "sometimes as high as 80°C, melting equipment and destroying food" raised concerns over food security.
  • The Paris Public Prosecutor's Office has "initiated an investigation – exercising its national jurisdiction – into the attack." "Hundreds of stores" at "French supermarket chains including Carrefour, Intermarché, Monoprix and Netto" as well as Coopérative U. Hackers took "control of refrigeration systems" to "drastically raise their temperatures."
  • One manager in rural Le Haye "said in a video posted on Facebook" that "It is a huge operating loss" and something that "We never would have expected" in "our rural Intermarché store".

 

PARIS, FRANCE – Indian cult leader sentenced over sadistic network targeting children

  • France 24 reports last Friday that Rohane Rane, 29, was sentenced "to 20 years in prison" for "his alleged involvement in an international criminal network that targeted vulnerable children in the US, Britain and Canada and coerced them into producing violent and sexual videos."
  • Prosecutors describe Rane "as a neo-Nazi lover of sadism and macabre ultra-violence" leading a group known by the leters "CVLT". Dozens of the victims in this case were young American girls "aged under 15" with male members of the group based in the US, India, Germany and New Zealand. Six girls, now between the ages of 18-21, "made official complaints" while "About 20 victims were identified but others could not be contacted". Many of the victims were "black or Jewish" and told "to engage in sexual acts or to self-harm with knives, including scoring the names of their tormentors or a Nazi swastika into their skin."
  • The hearings took place over five days behind closed doors at the request of the Americans. In 2020, the US National Center for Missing and Exploited Children "first rang alarm bells". US authorities will seek Rane's extradition one he has completed his sentence in France.

 

AUBAGNE, FRANCE – 14 year old opens fire at school, injuring principal and a teacher

  • The Associated Press reports Monday that "France detained a 14-year-old boy suspected of opening fire" at his "middle school principal and a teacher with a shotgun hidden in a guitar case, wounding both".
  • The incident took place at the Joseph Lakanal Middle School in Aubagne, approximately "15 kilometers (9 miles) east of the Mediterranean port city of Marseille." Franceinfo adds on X Wednesday that the young man has been "transferred to Paris to be brought before an anti-terrorism judge."
  • Both the teacher and principal were wounded and taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

 

VIENNA, AUSTRIA – Ukrainian journalists arrested for surveilling same spot as spooks

  • Reuters reports Monday that "The arrest of a Ukrainian journalist in Vienna last week was ordered because he was seen watching a location that two men suspected of spying had also surveilled," according to the Vienna prosecutors' office.
  • Two Ukrainians were arrested a week ago last Monday "on suspicion of spying" and last Thursday, "they arrested two more: investigative journalist Mykhailo Tkach and cameraman Yaroslav Bondarenko." The first two Ukrainians taken in were "remanded in investigative custody," while "Tkach and Bondarenko were released without charge."
  • Austrian authorities were keen to deny that "The arrests were in no way related to the two men's professional activities." Ukrainiska Pravda, the newspaper the two journalists work for, "have criticised the Austrian authorities for the arrest, saying they could have summoned them."

 

VIENNA, AUSTRIA – Judges and prosecutors strike over staff shortages

  • Reuters reports Monday that "Austria's judges and prosecutors went on strike" to protest "staff shortages among their ranks".
  • Shrinking budgets due to the EU's debt limits has led to "delays and backlogs" as Austria "struggles to cope with an ever growing number of cases." Across Austria, judges and prosecutors "stopped handling non-urgent matters this week."
  • There are an estimated "of more than 250 judges nationally" and 70 prosecutors needed to handle the current case load, according to the Austrian national judges' association.

 

VIENNA, AUSTRIA – Convicted property tycoon René Benko granted house arrest

  • Reuters reports a court in Austria "granted former property tycoon Rene Benko's request to be released from prison to house arrest with an ankle monitor after he served two-thirds of a 30-month sentence for insolvency fraud."
  • Benko, 49, gets to "move from prison in his home city of Innsbruck to a roughly 60-square-meter (650-square-foot) apartment that his lawyer" had rented for him "so he can better prepare for a fraud trial next month."
  • Benko "remains a suspect in the continuing investigation into a range of potential crimes including fraud" worth an estimated €1.5 billion ($1.7 billion).

 

BERN, SWITZERLAND – China behind cyber attack on Swiss space tech firm

  • Swissinfo reports Thursday that officials at the Swiss spy tech firm Beyond Gravity believe China was behind a recent cyber attack on the state-owned company.
  • Beyond Gravity makes satellite and rocket technology for Swiss state armaments-owned firm Ruag. According to company statements, Beyond Gravity "has filed a criminal complaint against persons unknown with the Bern Public Prosecutor's Office regarding the cyber attack."
  • Neither company officials nor the Switzerland's Department of Defense "wants to officially confirm the suspicion that China is behind" the incident while "The origin of the attacker remains the subject of ongoing investigations," however, "there is an internal assumption that China is behind the attack."

 

ZÜRICH, SWITZERLAND – Police file charges against business journalist

  • Swissinfo reports Thursday that "The Zurich Public Prosecutor's Office has brought charges against the business journalist Lukas Hässig," who reported on a "series of revelations" which "triggered the case involving former chairman of the board of Raiffeisen bank Pierin Vincenz."
  • Hässig was the first to report the charges on his website, Inside Paradeplatz. He "had gone as far as the Federal Court in an attempt to prevent the trial, but without success." The charges came as Vincenz' business partner Beat Stocker "lodged an appeal and was successful." Stocker alleges "Hässig had infringed his privacy in the articles about Vincenz's alleged irregularities."
  • Vincenz and Stocker allegedly "secretly acquired shareholdings in certain companies, and then arranged for these to be purchased by Raiffeisen Bank or the credit card company Aduno."

 

CORTONA, ITALY – Thieves steal over $5 million in wine from top vineyard

  • CNN reports last Friday that "Masked thieves broke into a warehouse in Cortona, Italy and made off with around 30,000 bottles of wine from the prestigious Marchesi Antinori vineyard worth more than $5 million," or €4.47 million, the weekend before last.
  • The theft was only discovered "when workers arrived to prepare the wine for export" a week ago last Monday as the thieves had dismantled the alarm system for the warehouse. The stolen wine was "all from 2023" and included "some of the winery's most soft after labels". Typically, the bottles stolen retail for between €150 to €500 per bottle ($168 and $561) internationally.
  • In a statement, Marchesi Antinori said the theft "may rank among the largest wine thefts ever reported".

 

REGGIO EMILIA, ITALY – US Jewish educators cancel trip over pro-Palestine declaration

  • The Jerusalem Post reports Wednesday that Jewish educators "from schools across the US cancelled a trip to Reggio Emilia, Italy, over whether the hosts would require participants to formally distance themselves from Israel's actions in Gaza and the West Bank."
  • Jewish educators and Italian Jewish community leaders have criticized Maddalena Tedeschi, the president of the host organization Reggio Children, who asked "participants to sign declarations distancing themselves from the 'occupation of territories and genocide.'" The audio of that encounter was broadcast on Italy's TG3 TV news program, sparking "a political dispute in Italy." Sixty-eight Jewish educators were expected to attend; 22 educators from Israel were already in Reggio participating in the program this week.
  • A spokesperson for Reggio Children, Francesca Severini, said the request has been intended to "appease local pro-Palestinian activists" but "had never become an official participation requirement, but acknowledged that the additional wording had been discussed."

 

And finally…

 

COLOGNE, GERMANY – Police seize robot that allegedly groped teenage girl

  • The Associated Press reports Thursday "German authorities opened an investigation into possible sexual harassment after a robot controlled by two young men touched the buttocks of a 16-year-old girl and made thrusting movements".
  • The incident occurred last Saturday and "the robot's suspected 16-year-old owner and a 19-year-old companion were said to have filmed the alleged assault" and "streamed the incident and commentated on it online."
  • A police spokesperson, Christoph Bermel, said the teenagers "have not been charged but are considered suspects".

 

Stay safe and prepare yourselves accordingly!

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