Politico: Europe Discusses 'unthinkable' Response To Russian Federation Attacks
7- 27.11.2025, 22:39
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Surgery options are named.
European nations are preparing solutions that seemed unthinkable just a few years ago as Russia has stepped up hybrid attacks against NATO countries. At issue are ideas ranging from joint offensive cyber operations to a faster and more concerted attribution of such actions with an overt reference to Moscow. Sudden NATO-led military exercises are also being considered, Politico reported Thursday, Nov. 27, citing two senior European officials and three EU diplomats.
Latvian Foreign Minister Baiba Braže said Russia is constantly testing the limits of what is acceptable and the West's reaction. According to her, a more proactive stance is needed. She emphasized: "It is not words but actions that send a signal."
In recent weeks and months, Russian drones have violated Polish and Romanian airspace, and unidentified drones have created havoc at airports and military installations across Europe. Other incidents include jamming of GPS signals, infiltrations of warplanes and ships, and an explosion on an important Polish rail line that delivers military aid to Ukraine.
The German defense ministry's secretary of state, Florian Hahn, told the Welt television channel that Europe and the alliance need to think about how long such hybrid attacks can be tolerated and whether they themselves should become more active.
Politico notes that hybrid attacks are not new: in recent years, Russia has sent assassins to eliminate political opponents in the UK, been accused of bombing munitions depots in Central Europe, trying to destabilize the EU by funding far-right parties, social media campaigns and interfering in elections in countries such as Romania and Moldova.
But the scale and frequency of the current attacks are unprecedented. Globsec, a Prague-based think tank, estimates that between January and July, more than a hundred and ten sabotage and attempted attacks were carried out in Europe, mainly in Poland and France. Responsibility for them has been blamed on individuals linked to Moscow.
So far, Europe's response has been to step up defensive measures. After Russian combat drones were shot down over Poland, NATO announced plans to strengthen air defenses on the alliance's eastern flank. The EU has backed the approach.
These moves have nevertheless irritated Moscow. Medvedev said that Europeans should fear and tremble like a herd of animals led to the slaughter and that they should shudder in anticipation of their imminent doom.
Italian Defense Minister Guido Crozetto last week criticized Europe's passivity and presented a one hundred and twenty-five-page plan with proposals for retaliatory measures. The document calls for the creation of a European center to counter hybrid warfare, a cybersecurity force of 1,500 people, and units specializing in artificial intelligence.
Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said that all countries need to review security procedures because Russia is clearly escalating its hybrid warfare against EU citizens.
Professor and deputy director of the Paris-based GEODE think tank Keven Limonier said that the differences between Moscow and the Brussels-based Brussels-based think tank are not just a matter of security. He questioned whether the rule of law states can afford to employ the same tools and strategies as Russia.
Some countries, such as Germany and Romania, are already tightening rules that allow drones to be shot down over airports and military installations . National security services sometimes operate in a legal gray area. Some allies, including Denmark and the Czech Republic, already allow offensive cyber operations.
Brazier said allies should be more proactive in offensive cyber operations and focus on raising situational awareness, ensuring coordination of security and intelligence services.
In practice, states could use cyber mechanisms to target systems critical to Russian military production, such as the Alabuga economic zone in Tatarstan, where the Shaked drone is produced, as well as energy facilities He emphasized that such actions could disrupt the functioning of these systems.
Europe also needs to develop approaches to counter the large-scale disinformation campaigns Russia is conducting domestically, he said.
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