European intelligence agencies say Russia-backed sabotage across the continent is becoming more violent, citing a string of arson attacks, bomb plots and assassination attempts carried out by loosely supervised recruits. An Associated Press tally shows more than 70 incidents linked to Moscow’s security services since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, with 12 serious acts of arson or sabotage last year, up from two in 2023 and none the year before. The warning follows a London jury’s decision this week to convict three men for torching a warehouse that stored Starlink equipment bound for Ukraine. Prosecutors said the March 2024 blaze, which drew 60 firefighters and threatened nearby homes, was organised on Telegram by a handler associated with the Wagner mercenary group. Two additional defendants, including ringleader Dylan Earl, had already pleaded guilty, marking one of the first cases brought under the UK’s 2023 National Security Act. Officials familiar with the investigation say Russia increasingly relies on ‘young amateurs’ paid a few thousand dollars to carry out attacks after hundreds of accredited spies were expelled from Western capitals in recent years. “When you start a campaign, it creates its own dynamic and gets more violent over time,” one senior European security officer told AP. In a separate case underscoring fears of deeper Russian penetration, Howard Phillips, 65, went on trial at Winchester Crown Court on charges of offering former defence minister Grant Shapps’ address and phone number to people he believed were Russian agents. Phillips denies a single count of assisting a foreign intelligence service, an offence that carries up to 14 years’ imprisonment under the same National Security Act. The Kremlin has rejected the accusations. Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow has seen no evidence it is orchestrating sabotage in Europe.