By Ishtwan Kamel
25/02/2025
Source
An explosion has occurred near the Russian consulate in the French city of Marseille. There were no casualties. The explosion near the Russian consulate in France could be a pretext for new accusations from Moscow. Given the current geopolitical tensions, Russia could react quickly and use this incident as proof of its earlier allegations of Ukraine’s hostile intentions, that is, Ukraine has allegedly organised a terrorist attack.
Early on Monday, 24 February, it was disturbance in Marseille. Unknown persons threw two bombs so called Molotov’s cocktail into the garden of the Russian Consulate. No one was injured in the incident which is a good news on the one hand but on the other…
Zakharova called for an immediate and thorough investigation and condemned the attack. “The blasts at the Russian consulate general in Marseille exhibit all the signs of a terrorist attack,” she said, urging the French government to take swift and decisive action. “We demand that the host country take immediate, thorough action to investigate the incident, as well as measures to improve the security of Russia’s foreign facilities.”
The attack followed a 19 February warning by the SVR, the Russian foreign intelligence agency, saying the Ukrainian authorities could target Russian diplomatic facilities in Europe. It highlighted potential threats in countries such as Germany, Baltic and Scandinavian countries, as well as Slovakia and Hungary, as part of a wider geopolitical strategy to discredit EU members who take different positions on Ukraine.
Accusing Ukraine of alleged involvement in the explosion could become a convenient tool for Russian propaganda, demonstrating that this attack is evident Kyiv’s aggressive intentions and its unwillingness to compromise in peace talks.
Moscow can therefore claim to have been aware of Kyiv’s intentions and to have tried to warn the international community.
The aim of such accusations is to make Ukraine portray itself to European countries as an aggressor, especially against the backdrop of peace talks, when Europe and the United States are exploring ways to de-escalate, and as a saboteur of the peace process.
Indeed, similar acts of sabotage (arson, explosions and other acts of sabotage) in Europe in the past have been linked to the actions of Russian intelligence services and their agents. This suggests that the incident was orchestrated by Moscow, rather than Kyiv, because Russia benefits from undermining European leaders’ trust of Ukraine’s leadership.
For Russia, the discrediting of Ukraine in the eyes of Europe is a strategic move. If European leaders begin to question Kyiv’s reliability as a partner, this will weaken Ukraine’s negotiating position and strengthen Moscow’s, and will also allow them to use this incident as a means to delay or disrupt peace talks.
The Russian Consul-General in Marseille, Stanislav Oransky, has already stated that the explosion in the Marseille might have been organised by Ukrainians, but there has been delivered no clear answer yet.
Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal reported on 15 Feb, quoting Western intelligence officials, that Russian spies have a new shadowy unit that targets the West and conducts covert attacks in Europe and elsewhere.
The new unit, known to Western intelligence officials by the acronym SSD, is believed to be behind a number of recent attacks on the West, including an attempted assassination of the CEO of a German arms manufacturer and a plot to place incendiary devices on planes using the giant DHL shipping service. This means that Russian intelligence has the means to sabotage Europe in the manner like that. Seems, that New page has been opened in France this time…