The ongoing geopolitical struggle between imperialist blocs is escalating, with Russia shifting from recruiting individual, often unwitting, agents to deploying professional sabotage networks across Europe. This development, highlighted by Poland's internal security service, exposes how workers and former state enforcers are commodified as tools in an "undeclared war with the Western world," with the state apparatus accepting the "occurrence of fatalities."
Poland's Internal Security Agency (ABW) reported that many individuals previously involved in Russian operations were recruited online as "disposable agents," some unaware they were working for Moscow. However, Russia is now moving away from these low-cost, one-time recruits towards more professional operations, tapping into organized crime networks to execute its strategic objectives.
Escalation of Imperialist Conflict
The Associated Press has tracked over 150 such incidents linked to Moscow by Western officials since the invasion of Ukraine, four years ago. The ABW stated that Poland has conducted as many espionage investigations in the past two years as it did over the previous three decades, resulting in 62 arrests. These efforts are framed by the ABW as part of Russia's "undeclared war with the Western world," in which "Russian intelligence is increasingly using methods typical of special forces (reconnaissance and sabotage)."
The report explicitly states that the long-term goal of the Russian Federation remains the "disintegration of Euro-Atlantic structures, the isolation of specific countries and their internal socio-political and economic destabilization." This objective reveals the underlying struggle for geopolitical and economic dominance, where the destabilization of rival blocs serves the interests of one imperialist power over another.
Some of these espionage activities are also dictated by Belarus's secret services, which are "closely cooperating" with Moscow, as well as by China, indicating a broader alignment of state powers in this struggle. The ABW described "mass surveillance" operations in Poland as groundwork for acts of diversion, which it considers "the most serious challenge" it faces.
Commodification of Violence
The ABW further noted that Russian intelligence services are accepting the possibility of "occurrence of fatalities" in these operations, underscoring the human cost deemed acceptable in the pursuit of state-capitalist objectives. In 2024 and 2025, 69 espionage investigations were initiated, matching the total number between 1991 and 2023, demonstrating a significant intensification of state-backed covert actions.
While Russian services in 2023 primarily relied on "one-time agents recruited ad hoc via the internet," the period of 2024-2025 saw a greater emphasis on creating "complex sabotage cells" that leverage "the closed structures of organized crime." This shift represents a more sophisticated and professionalized deployment of resources for state-sponsored destabilization.
ABW stated that "Russians prefer individuals with experience in law enforcement (e.g., former soldiers, police officers, mercenaries from the Wagner Group)." This preference highlights the commodification of violence, utilizing individuals whose labor has been trained and disciplined by the state or private military contractors. Russian services have also intensified training conducted on Russian territory, aimed at "professionally preparing agents for terrorist activities."
Six months ago, Poland experienced a concrete example of this escalation when Prime Minister Donald Tusk called explosions and malfunctions on a railway line used for deliveries to Ukraine an "unprecedented act of sabotage." While there were no casualties in that specific incident, it illustrates the material impact of these covert operations on infrastructure and the potential for broader disruption within the capitalist supply chains.