Russian sabotage costs UK up to £2.5bn a year

The economic impact of Russia's hostile activities against the United Kingdom amounts to at least £2-2.5 billion a year, according to a new report by the vice-chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on rearmament.

Source: Financial Times

Details: The new report, entitled "The Putin Tax", estimates the costs of the disruption, recovery and investment in resilience caused by Russia's hybrid warfare against the UK.

However, the study by Labour MP Graeme Downie, published on Wednesday 7 October, suggests that the true figure is likely to be "vastly higher" than his estimate. He warned that gaps in government-published data make it impossible to accurately calculate the cost of hybrid warfare linked to Moscow.

The overall estimate of £2-2.5 billion comprises three components: £400-500 million in average annual losses from major incidents since 2022, such as attacks on Jaguar Land Rover, the Royal Mail and National Health Service suppliers; £1.47 billion in losses from Russia-linked cyberattacks, based on industry analysis and threat intelligence; and £250-500 million in losses from damage to undersea communications cables and related infrastructure.

The report also emphasises that the UK lacks a coherent system for assessing the economic impact of hostile state activity and that the cost of many serious incidents has yet to be calculated, leaving both MPs and the public without a clear picture of the financial consequences.

Background: Danish intelligence has reported that Russia launched sabotage operations against Danish companies supplying goods to Ukraine after concluding that broader destabilisation efforts had failed to curb military support.

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