“As far as Putin is concerned, Ukraine does what it is told. 

“When he sees Russian factories being attacked, he sees the hands of the CIA, of Nato.

“Not killing people and going after infrastructure facilities show they still have political limits, for the moment. 

“Even if Putin speaks of a war against the West, in reality he doesn’t want an open conflict. 

“So Russia is using operations that remain just below the threshold.”

A government spokesman said: “The Government actively deters and defends against the full spectrum of threats emanating from Russia, working in partnership with our allies.

“We recently announced that we are expelling the Russian defence attaché and are removing the diplomatic status from several Russian premises as part of a package to tighten defences against malign activity by Russia across the UK and Europe.

“This is the toughest package of bilateral measures imposed on Russia since Salisbury and sits alongside the significant powers of the National Security Act 2023, which are already being used to keep us safe from state threats.

“Alongside the US and Australia, we have also sanctioned a senior Russia-based leader of LockBit, once one of the world’s most pernicious cybercrime gangs.”