NCOZ: hybrid threats intensifying across Europe

Information operations aimed at spreading Russian propaganda and influencing public opinion against aid to Ukraine have been intensifying in the Czech Republic, according to the 2023 report of the National Centre against Organized Crime (NCOZ). According to the report, these efforts aim to demoralize the public debate and spread the Russian view of the war in Ukraine. So-called hybrid threats are also intensifying in other European countries, the report says. Last year, the Centre also observed the movement of "post-Soviet criminal structures" into Europe, which it said could result in their permanent presence inside the Schengen area, including the Czech Republic.