NATO Weighs More Aggressive Response to Russia’s Hybrid Warfare

NATO may adopt a more proactive strategy to counter Russia’s hybrid threats.

The chairman of the alliance’s Military Committee, Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone, said this in an interview with the Financial Times. He noted that such threats include cyberattacks, acts of sabotage, and violations of airspace.

Europe has already faced multiple hybrid warfare incidents – from damaged cables in the Baltic Sea to large-scale cyberattacks.

Some diplomats, particularly from Eastern European countries, are urging NATO to stop merely reacting and to start striking back — including in cyberspace, where many states possess offensive capabilities.

The admiral acknowledged that even a preemptive strike could be viewed as a defensive action, although this goes beyond the alliance’s traditional way of thinking. He emphasized that the key issues remain the legal and jurisdictional frameworks, as well as determining who would be responsible for such actions.

An example of a successful strategy is the Baltic Sentry operation, in which ships, aircraft, and maritime drones patrol the Baltic Sea. This has helped prevent a repeat of the cable-damage incidents in 2023–2024, which had been linked to Russia’s ‘shadow fleet.’

Dragone emphasized that NATO faces more constraints than its adversaries due to ethical and legal standards. At the same time, he stressed that the alliance’s main task is to deter future aggression – and to do so, it must carefully assess whether deterrence is best achieved through retaliation or through preemptive action.