Europe Needs a United Response to Russia’s Hybrid War

Europe faces immense challenges in preparing for a possible war with Russia. It must rebuild hollowed-out armies, replenish weapons stockpiles and overhaul a fragmented defense industry ill-suited to modern warfighting. Clearly, it also needs better tools to wage a conflict that’s already underway: the Kremlin’s broadening campaign of hybrid, or “gray zone,” warfare.

Across the continent, mysterious incidents have surged. Drone incursions have forced airports to close. Russian-sponsored hackers have attacked sensitive sites such as Norway’s Bremanger dam. Arson and sabotage attempts at an IKEA in Vilnius, Lithuania, a US-owned paint factory in Poland and a warehouse in London that sent satellite equipment to Ukraine have been linked to Russia. Third-country asylum seekers have been pushed into North Atlantic Treaty Organization countries via Russian territory. Between January and April, Russian jamming disrupted nearly 123,000 flights in the Baltics, Finland, Poland and Sweden.