Waking up to the news: NATO acknowledges the threat of Russia's "hybrid attacks," which could have serious repercussions for Europe.

NATO has acknowledged that there is a real threat of "unconventional attacks" from the Russian regime for member countries of the Alliance. An attempt at hybrid assaults by the Russian Federation is to be expected, which could lead to severe large-scale consequences. Sabotage and arson orchestrated by Russian agents may result in "significant losses."

This was stated by NATO representative James Appathurai in an interview with the British television channel Sky News. Appathurai is responsible for updating NATO's strategy for tracking and countering Russia's hybrid warfare.

Appathurai compared the situation to that of a "boiling frog" and noted that the scale of Russia's hybrid attacks has reached levels that NATO would have deemed unacceptable just five years ago. The number of "kinetic attacks" has particularly surged – including cutting vital underwater cables, diversions, and planting incendiary devices in aircraft cargo.

According to the official, over 100 such incidents have been recorded, not including those diversions that were successfully prevented. The Russian regime believes it has the right to respond in this manner to military support for Ukraine from Western partners. Furthermore, one of the Russian attacks could "escalate and become large-scale."

"This part is true. So they dislike what we are doing, but they also see us as an enemy. And it is getting worse... Therefore, there is a real prospect that one of these attacks could result in a significant number of casualties or very substantial economic damage," Appathurai summarized.

The Baltic Sea has become a battleground for hybrid warfare

Russia is already using the Baltic Sea for hybrid attacks on NATO. In December, an underwater power cable connecting Finland and Estonia malfunctioned. Later, Finland detected disruptions in the operation of four telecommunications cables linking the country to Germany and Estonia. Two of the cables belong to the Finnish company Elisa, one to the Chinese company CITIC Telecom. All of them run between Helsinki and Tallinn. The fourth underwater cable, C-Lion1, belongs to the Finnish company Cinia and connects Helsinki to Germany.

Following the damage to the cables in the Baltic Sea, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte stated that the Alliance will enhance its presence there. He did not rule out the possibility that the incident could be sabotage.