NATO considers ‘more aggressive’ response to Russia’s hybrid threats

Tensions betwixt NATO and Russia sharpened Monday aft the alliance’s apical subject commandant said subordinate states are considering whether they indispensable go "more aggressive" successful confronting Moscow’s hybrid menace campaign.

Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone, president of NATO’s subject committee, told the Financial Times the confederation is evaluating if it should beryllium "proactive alternatively of reactive," including the anticipation of "preemptive" cyber oregon sabotage operations.

Dragone said specified actions could inactive autumn nether antiaircraft doctrine, saying, "It is further distant from our mean mode of reasoning oregon behavior."

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Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone, Chair of the NATO Military Committee, Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone, reportedly said the confederation is weighing whether it indispensable go "more assertive oregon beryllium proactive alternatively of reactive."  (Dursun Aydemir/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Dragone pointed to the Baltic Sentry mission, launched this twelvemonth to antagonistic Russian-linked sabotage astatine sea, saying that "from the opening of Baltic Sentry, thing has happened. So this means that this deterrence is working."

He added: "Being much assertive compared with the aggressivity of our counterpart could beryllium an option, but Dragone besides admitted that NATO and its members had overmuch much limits than our counterpart due to the fact that of ethics, due to the fact that of law, due to the fact that of jurisdiction. It is an issue. I don’t privation to accidental it’s a loser position, but it is simply a harder presumption than our counterpart’s."

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A NATO subject unit stands defender up of the two-day NATO acme astatine the World Forum, successful The Hague, connected June 22, 2025. (Remko De Waal/ANP/AFP via Getty Images)

Moscow instantly pushed back. Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova called Dragone’s comments "an highly irresponsible step" and accused NATO of signaling it is consenting "to determination toward escalation," according to Russian authorities media.

Carrie Filipetti, Executive Director of the Vandenberg Coalition and a erstwhile elder State Department and authoritative astatine the U.S. ngo to the United Nations, told Fox News Digital that, "Given Russia’s unilateral penetration of Ukraine successful 2022, the thought that Russia is informing astir NATO being irresponsible is laughable. Putin has been fixed galore opportunities to extremity the warfare peacefully and has refused them each due to the fact that of his ain expansionist goals. NATO is simply reacting to his aggression."

"Regarding U.S. involvement," she explained, "Article 5 simply states that an onslaught connected 1 is an onslaught connected all. NATO adopting a much assertive presumption does not obligate the U.S. to bash the same. We are lone required to instrumentality ‘such enactment arsenic [we] deem necessary’ – and that, lone successful the lawsuit of an onslaught connected a NATO state."

Russian President Vladimir Putin watches a naval workout from the Marshal Ustinov rocket cruiser successful the Black Sea connected Jan. 9, 2020. The drills progressive warships from Russia's Black Sea Fleet on with respective ships from its Northern Fleet. More than 30 warships and 39 aircraft, including respective Tu-95 strategical bombers, took portion successful the exercise. (Alexei Druzhinin /Russian Presidential Press and Information Office / Handout / Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

General Bruce Carlson, U.S. Air Force (Ret.) and erstwhile manager of the National Reconnaissance Office, told Fox News Digital, "Let’s not hide it’s Russia who is conducting preemptive subject enactment successful Europe with the sole volition of invading and occupying different sovereign nation’s territory by force." 

Carlson added, "Putin lone understands 1 happening and that’s power. No 1 has strengthened NATO much than President Trump, and it is captious that we usage each lever imaginable to propulsion Russia to the negotiating array to execute a lasting and sustainable bid woody that protects Ukraine’s sovereignty and defends U.S. nationalist information interests."

The warnings travel amid a dependable drumbeat of Russian-linked enactment that NATO officials accidental falls nether hybrid warfare. The confederation says it faces regular cyberattacks that tin beryllium traced to Moscow, alongside accusation operations, migration pressure, and repeated targeting of captious infrastructure.

A bid of sabotage incidents successful precocious 2024 triggered a large NATO review. Several undersea information cables and a cardinal powerfulness nexus were damaged that November and December, including connected Dec. 25. Prosecutors successful Finland accused the unit of a Cook Islands–flagged tanker of dragging an anchor for much than 50 miles and severing infrastructure, though a Finnish tribunal aboriginal dismissed the case, ruling nationalist instrumentality did not apply.

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The Russian Navy's diesel-electric Kilo people submarine Rostov-on-Don sails done the Bosphorus Strait connected the mode to the Black Sea past the metropolis of Istanbul connected Feb 13, 2022.  (Ozan Kose/AFP via Getty Images)

More recently, astir 20 drones crossed into NATO subordinate Poland successful September, prompting Warsaw to trigger Article 4 consultations. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said astatine the clip it was "the closest we person been to unfastened struggle since World War II," portion Moscow denied targeting Polish territory.