Russia is stepping up hybrid attacks against Europe, French President Emmanuel Macron has said in the latest warning by a European leader about the threat Moscow poses as its full-scale invasion of Ukraine grinds on. After meeting with other French political parties on Friday, Macron said, “the Russian hybrid threat, facing Europeans and France has intensified," and that, “the nature of Russian aggression is changing." Since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, analysts and politicians have noted a spike in attacks on infrastructure in Europe, with non-military sites like shopping centers and border posts increasingly targeted in actions Moscow has been blamed for. Russia has denied hybrid attacks but Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov this week warned European countries against sending troops to Ukraine, which would be seen by Russia as a declaration of war, adding: "If Europe attacks Russia, it will be a completely different war, and it will be very short." Already accused of interfering in elections and weaponizing migrants trying to reach Europe, Russia is also suspected of sabotage, arson, attacks on critical infrastructure, cyberattacks, and airspace violations.
Newsweek has contacted the Kremlin for comment. As an example of the threat Russia poses, Macron referred to the strike on a Kyiv-Warsaw passenger train on September 13 which took place less than two miles from Poland’s border. The attack occurred after former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and European security officials had passed through on the same line but on a different train.
No casualties were reported and it did not take place inside Poland, but the proximity to NATO territory has sparked concerns. Poland has been at the front line of Russian drone incursions and its prime minister Donald Tusk warned on Thursday of a real risk of Russian strikes on countries supporting Ukraine inside NATO, which Moscow would claim were accidental, in order to split the alliance. NATO's Article 5 mutual defense clause says an attack on one member would be an attack on all and alliance chief, and NATO secretary general Mark Rutte said this week that Russia “continues to lash out with reckless and dangerous attacks.” Other country leaders continue to voice alarm at the increase in drones from Russia entering NATO airspace, in particular, the Baltic states and Romania.
Lithuania’s President Gitanas Nauseda said on Wednesday that Moscow may be deliberately allowing Russian drones to deviate from their intended course and enter NATO airspace to punish countries supporting Ukraine. Last month, Moldova’s President Maia Sandu said that Russia had deliberately launched some of its drones into Moldovan and NATO airspace. Moldova is not a member of the alliance but Sandu has accused Moscow of political interference and hybrid warfare.
Earlier this month, Finland’s Interior Minister Mari Rantanen unveiled a 120-mile fence near the Nuijamaa border crossing point in the southeast of the country to stop Moscow’s tactic of sending migrants to the frontier with the NATO member. Meanwhile, Russian drone attacks appear to be going deeper into European territory where officials cited by Bloomberg fear that it’s only a matter of time before there are civilian casualties. On August 11, divers destroyed two drones floating off the coast of Romania near an energy project.
Later that month, Bucharest scrambled two F-16s to take out a maritime drone near the same Black Sea gas platform. Also in August, German police detected an armed drone at Leipzig airport, while this week NATO jets downed another unmanned aircraft that entered Lithuanian airspace from neighboring Belarus, an ally of Moscow. Justice Department accused the Russian intelligence service of conspiring to finance terrorism and commit murder for hire in Europe.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
