Romania’s intelligence service foils attempted sabotage operation coordinated by Russia

Romania’s intelligence service, the Serviciul Român de Informații (SRI), said on September 8 that in cooperation with national and international partners, it had prevented a sabotage operation coordinated by the Russian Federation on Romanian territory

The plan for the sabotage in Romania involved a Russian citizen resident in Romania, the statement said.

The SRI said that since February 2026, it had been monitoring the Russian citizen as the subject of an extensive investigation regarding attempted acts of diversion, materialized through photo-video documentation of communications centres and national military bases used by Nato allies, of headquarters of institutions from the national defence, public order and national security system, as well as of critical infrastructures.

The data obtained indicate a similar action pattern to that used on the territory of European states by networks of saboteurs coordinated by entities from the Russian Federation, including in the cases thwarted in Romania in 2024 and 2025: the Russian citizen was instructed by an intermediary to make photos and videos with targets of strategic military interest, including Ukrainian Antonov cargo aircraft during their presence in Romania.

“The investigation also revealed that the Russian Federation continues to use persons from vulnerable categories to carry out such illegal activities,” the SRI said.

The specific actions taken by the SRI, as well as the measures taken with the Romanian authorities and external partners, led to the prevention of an act of sabotage on national territory.

SRI thanks all national and international partners involved in ensuring the security of Romanian citizens, the statement said.