US Scales Back Efforts to Counter Russian Sabotage as Trump Shifts Policy Toward Moscow

The United States has quietly halted or slowed several national security initiatives aimed at countering Russian sabotage, disinformation, and cyber warfare, a move that some officials fear could embolden Moscow at a critical moment in the ongoing war in Ukraine.

In a surprising diplomatic turn, Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin reportedly agreed this week to a 30-day pause on attacks against each other’s energy infrastructure. While the agreement was framed as a confidence-building measure, critics argue it sets the stage for broader concessions that could weaken Ukraine’s position. Despite concerns from national security experts, the Trump administration has not formally acknowledged any shift in counter-Russia operations. A spokesperson for the NSC told Reuters that “President Trump has made it abundantly clear that any attack on the U.S. will be met with a disproportionate response.”

According to multiple current and former US officials, the National Security Council (NSC) under President Donald Trump has stopped coordinating key interagency efforts with European allies, leaving a critical gap in intelligence-sharing and joint operations. The shift, first reported by Reuters, follows a broader policy recalibration toward Russia, which includes negotiations that could see Ukraine forced into a truce favorable to Moscow.

The Biden administration had previously established cross-agency working groups to monitor Russian hybrid warfare, involving at least seven national security agencies collaborating with European partners. These groups had been focused on disrupting Russian sabotage plots targeting Western infrastructure, elections, and defense supply chains. Now, those efforts appear to be unraveling, with no clear guidance from the new administration on whether they will continue.

The intelligence community has been tracking an uptick in Russian hybrid warfare tactics since early 2024, including:

• Covert sabotage operations across Europe, from attempted assassinations to arson attacks targeting Ukraine-linked businesses.
• Cyber operations aimed at disrupting US and NATO military logistics, with hackers targeting energy grids, ports, and transport hubs.
• Influence campaigns designed to erode Western support for Ukraine, with Russia-backed operatives pushing anti-NATO narratives.

Under Biden, the US had responded with a multi-agency effort to counter these threats, leading to several high-profile disruptions. In one instance, US intelligence reportedly helped German authorities foil an assassination attempt on the CEO of Rheinmetall, a key German defense contractor supplying weapons to Ukraine. In another case, a British court charged six individuals with arson linked to Russian intelligence, after they set fire to a warehouse connected to a Ukraine-born businessman.

Now, the infrastructure behind these operations is disintegrating, with regular NSC meetings with European security officials left unscheduled and US agencies reportedly unclear on whether they should continue tracking Russia’s hybrid threats at the same intensity.

Trump’s eagerness to improve relations with Russia appears to be driving the recalibration of US policy. Since taking office in January, he has held back on approving additional military aid for Ukraine despite bipartisan pressure in Congress.

Even more, Trump signaled openness to a negotiated settlement that some officials worry would cement Russian territorial gains.