"In a regional aspect, Moscow's indirect attempts to create a second zone of instability in the Western Balkans, taking advantage of the existing problems and contradictions in the region, played a destructive role. The activity of Russian special services in and from the territory of certain countries of the Western Balkans increased significantly during 2022 in an attempt to compensate for the damage caused to Russian legal residences by the expulsion of Russian diplomats from a number of countries in Europe."

This is stated in the report on the activities of the Bulgarian "Military Intelligence" Service for 2022. The Service is part of the Bulgarian Armed Forces and is directly subordinated to the Minister on defense.

Cyberwar

The Bulgarian military intelligence also reports that a "permanent trend towards an increase in cyber security risks is emerging. In the context of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, EU countries, including Bulgaria, have been subjected to repeated and sustained offensive cyber operations. The use of cyber attacks against objects of critical infrastructure in combination with other hybrid techniques and hostile actions such as organizing large-scale information and disinformation campaigns and attempts to provoke social discontent and migration processes, sabotage and sabotage will continue in 2023. This puts national and collective mechanisms to a serious test decision-making and countering potential aggression".

Risk of terrorist infiltration

"In the context of continued instability, high levels of unemployment, social dissatisfaction and public dissatisfaction prevailing among the young population of the migration source countries in the Middle East, Africa and Asia, we expect in 2023 to observe intensive exploitation of the migration routes to Europe, including through the territory of Bulgaria" - it is also written in the report of the "Military Intelligence" Service.

In this regard, "the risk of the use of migration problems in hybrid operations directed against the EU, as well as the infiltration of members and followers of terrorist groups into European countries, remains."

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