Russian Embassy Slams Claims Putin Intensifying ‘Hybrid War’ on NATO - Newsweek

Russia has denied it is intensifying hybrid attacks on European countries after several NATO nations accused Moscow of doubling down on a campaign of sabotage and shadowy pressure on vital infrastructure.

"The Russian Federation categorically rejects these accusations," the Russian embassy in the United Kingdom told Newsweek on Thursday.

NATO's top officials warned in recent weeks Moscow is expanding its so-called "hybrid warfare" assaults against alliance members, referring to a broad set of activities stopping short of open fighting, like cyberattacks, information campaigns or targeting vulnerable infrastructure like power grids or undersea cables.

European capitals have sounded the alarm over a string of incidents described as hybrid warfare attacks, with Russia directly named as the alleged perpetrator or suspected of being involved.

Berlin blamed Moscow after a drone containing explosives was found at the eastern German airport of Leipzig in early August, close to aircraft carrying weapons for Ukraine. Investigators said the device didn't explode because of an apparently malfunctioning detonator.

Moscow denied responsibility, and Russia's foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, said the German government's accusations marked "the beginning of a real war."

Estonia said earlier this week Russian special services had orchestrated an arson attack on a defense company supplying Kyiv with drones, in Tallinn the previous month.

The Polish government said in September a fire at a Starlink satellite site linked to the Ukrainian military was an "act of sabotage," while Polish prosecutors said they suspected a Russian connection. Separately, a Russian drone struck the engine of a passenger train traveling from Kyiv to Warsaw last month, close to the Polish border.

European NATO nations, particularly those pressed up on Russia's border, have been further set on edge by a series of drone and missile incursions into their airspace, which some officials describe as Moscow probing NATO reactions, trying to weaken the alliance and hack at support for Ukraine.

French President Emmanuel Macron, meanwhile, said hybrid attacks "are multiplying" across Europe, vowing they would not "go unanswered."

European authorities are growing bolder in publicly identifying the individuals, states and organizations they assess are responsible for hybrid attacks, including the Kremlin's agents.

"Technical failures, infrastructure faults and criminal incidents across Europe are routinely attributed to our country, without evidence and often before any investigation has been concluded," the Russian embassy told Newsweek.

"Russia poses no threat to NATO and has no intention of confronting it," the embassy continued. "However, should the Alliance take aggressive steps against our country, we will respond resolutely and proportionately."

Earlier this week, Russia's representatives in London threatened to use nuclear weapons against the U.K. if the NATO country attempts to cut off or attack Russia's exclave of Kaliningrad.

The bellicose statement came shortly after British broadcaster Sky News aired a miniseries tracing a hypothetical Russian attack on the U.K. and how the country might respond—including by authorizing operations against the Baltic territory of Kaliningrad. It generated significant British media attention.

Kaliningrad is sandwiched between Poland and Lithuania, and a contentious strip of land, the Suwałki Gap, links the isolated Russian oblast to Belarus. The Baltic Sea territory is home to a major Russian naval fleet and launchers able to fire fast-traveling missiles, but is surrounded by NATO member states.

"Any British or NATO military action against Russian territory would be met with a response using all means at Russia’s disposal, including nuclear weapons," the Russian embassy said at the time.

The U.K. foreign office sees the Russian statement as a response to media speculation, which it doesn't usually comment on, Newsweek understands.

Less than two weeks earlier, the head of the U.K.'s Royal Navy called Russia the "greatest threat" to British security.

"We know that Russia is probing us for weakness," General Sir Gwyn Jenkins said.

U.K.-Russian relations are now at their worst point since the early days of the Cold War, John Foreman, a former U.K. defense attaché to both Moscow and Kyiv, previously told Newsweek.

Denmark's military and foreign intelligence service, in a stark statement, said in late September Moscow had upped its cyberattacks and sabotage operations in Europe, and described Russia as "more willing to take risks."

Danish intelligence assessed Russia would try to further turn up the pressure of its hybrid war against NATO "with greater consequences for the targeted countries than in the past."

"At the same time, there is a low but growing risk that Russia will launch a limited military attack against one or several NATO countries bordering Russia," the Danish Defence Intelligence Service (DDIS) concluded.

Some form of small-scale land grab or military operation against NATO territory is generally seen as the realistic worst-case scenario for NATO, rather than an all-out, Ukraine-style invasion push.

Unlike Kyiv, NATO states are protected by a clause in the alliance's treaty that obliges all members to treat an attack on one as an assault on all.

This means, theoretically, Russia would come up against the collective might of all 32 members—including, crucially, the U.S. with its vast military and nuclear arsenal—if it tried to invade a NATO country. But should Russia attack a part of NATO and the rest of the alliance doesn't respond emphatically, it would be widely seen as a show of NATO weakness and could spell the end of its credibility.

Analysts say that if Russia did move to occupy part of NATO territory, it would probably amass soldiers close to Estonia, Latvia or Lithuania's eastern borders or push into an area known as the Suwałki Gap. NATO is actively rehearsing for some of these scenarios starting in 2030.

U.S. officials now believe Russia could carry out a "limited" attack on NATO soil within the next few years, The Wall Street Journal reported in August. Moscow may also ramp up its hybrid warfare attacks starting this fall, according to the report.

Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Tobias Meyjes and Sam Wilson.