A senior NATO official said: “There is a real possibility that Russia will carry out an unconventional attack against the alliance, such as an act of sabotage or arson, which will result in significant casualties.”
James Appathurai, who is updating NATO’s strategy to follow and monitor so-called “hybrid warfare,” added, “Allies must be clearer among themselves and with Moscow about the level of hostilities that may require a response, including the use of military force.”
Appathurai pointed out in statements to the British Sky News network that the 32 member states of NATO were indeed motivated. Hybrid attacks from Russia against Europe, the United States, and Canada have increased to a size that was “completely unacceptable” 5 years ago.
He said that since the outbreak of war in Ukraine in February 2022, there has been a noticeable increase in acts of sabotage, such as cutting submarine cables, carrying out sabotage operations against buildings, and planting incendiary devices inside airborne cargo.
He continued: “We can certainly count dozens of operations. Up to 100 for sure. But there are many conspiracies that have been foiled.”
NATO’s Deputy Secretary-General for Innovation, Hybrid Warfare and Cyber Wars believed that the increase in attacks was a reaction from the Kremlin to Western military support for Ukraine, in addition to the belief that the West is against Russia, which he denied, stressing that the West is trying to restrict Moscow to prevent it from attacking its neighbors.
Russia has previously denied allegations of its involvement in sabotage, hacking, and assassinations.
In response to a question about whether he was concerned that a hybrid attack launched by Russia might cross a red line that would trigger NATO’s Article 5 and push them into war with Russia, Appathurai said: “What worries me is that one of these attacks will significantly cross a red line.” .
Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) concerns collective response. An attack on one member state is an attack on all.
Since NATO’s founding in 1949, its members have been deterring the Soviet Union then, and now Russia, from launching conventional military attacks on their territory.
There is a clear red line, understood by both sides, that any kind of military attack could trigger a collective response under Article 5.
The alliance said that hybrid hostilities designed to be difficult to attribute to the state, and which may be carried out by criminals working unknowingly on behalf of Russian intelligence, may reach the level of a hybrid attack that may require a military response.
In turn, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Sunday that Russia intends to cancel the ban on the deployment of short- and medium-range missiles, after the United States began deploying such weapons.
Lavrov added, in an interview with the RIA news agency: “We assess the situation based on an analysis of the destabilizing actions undertaken by the United States and NATO in the strategic field, and, consequently, the development of the threats resulting from them.”
He continued: “Today it is clear that, for example, our ban on the deployment of short- and medium-range missiles is no longer practical and must be abandoned. The United States arrogantly ignored the warnings of Russia and China and practically moved to deploying weapons of this type in different regions of the world.
Washington withdrew from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty in 2019. Since then, Russia has said it will not deploy such weapons on the condition that Washington does not do so.
Last updated: December 29, 2024 – 15:25
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