The Kremlin is testing Europe‘s limits.
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Kremlin → test → limits
After months of covert attacks and sabotage across the continent, leaders are warning that Moscow may be about to grow bolder as it seeks to sow chaos and intimidate allies of Ukraine.
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it → warn → Ukraine
Russian President Vladimir Putin could try to test NATO’s resolve to defend members on its eastern flank or respond to attacks that fall short of all-out war, these officials say, at a time when the U.S. is distracted by other conflicts and weighing reducing its military presence in Europe.
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U.S. → try → Europe
An assessment by the Danish Defence Intelligence Service released Thursday warned that in the coming months Moscow will further intensify its campaign of so-called hybrid warfare, “with greater consequences for the targeted countries than in the past.”
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Moscow → release → past
It also assessed “a low but growing risk that Russia will launch a limited military attack against one or several NATO countries bordering Russia.”
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Russia → assess → Russia
While Moscow has for years embraced tactics that straddle the threshold of war, a string of increasingly brazen incidents in recent months has alarmed U.S. allies.
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string → embrace → allies
‘A bit freaked out’
A key moment was the discovery of a Russian drone carrying explosives at an airport in eastern Germany near a Ukrainian aircraft last month.
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moment → freak → aircraft
Berlin formally blamed Russia for what it said was a thwarted attack and imposed a diplomatic freeze, though Moscow denied involvement.
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Moscow → blame → involvement
That incident appears to have changed the mindset about Russia’s growing threat in Europe, said Ed Arnold, a senior associate fellow in international security at the Royal United Services Institute, a London-based think tank.
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Arnold → appear → Institute
“It just showed that Putin’s risk calculations are getting more liberal,” Arnold said.
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Arnold → show → ?
“Everyone just got a bit freaked out by that, quite frankly.”
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Everyone → get → that
It was followed by the unexpected visit of CIA Director John Ratcliffe to Moscow, during which NATO was discussed.
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NATO → follow → which
Incidents have continued to pile up — at defense facilities in Estonia, rail networks in Poland and the power grid in Germany.
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Incidents → continue → Germany
Many have passed without clear attribution, only intensifying speculation.
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Many → pass → speculation
All this against the backdrop of near-daily drone incursions into European airspace, fueling anxiety in eastern border towns.
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this → fuel → towns
In Ukraine, a passenger train was hit less than 2 miles from the Polish border earlier this month, a close call on NATO’s doorstep that came as European diplomats returned from Kyiv on the same rail line.
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diplomats → hit → line
Another train, with former CIA Director David Petraeus on board, was still at the station when the drone struck.
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drone → strike → station
Just days later, NATO fighter jets shot down a drone that entered the airspace of Lithuania, one of the Baltic member states whose proximity to Russia, analysts say, could make it a prime target for the Kremlin’s next move.
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it → shoot → move
What could this look like?
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look → look → What
As unease increasingly swirled last week, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said the Kremlin plans to launch drone and missile attacks against European countries that it would argue were accidental to try to weaken any response.
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it → swirl → response
Russia has not claimed involvement in any of the incidents and has repeatedly denied conducting hybrid warfare or sabotage operations in NATO territory.
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Russia → claim → territory
Putin himself accused European leaders earlier this month of seeking out “a war against Russia” and “frightening their populations with an imaginary threat.”
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Putin → accuse → threat
On Friday, Russian state news agency RIA published and quickly deleted an op-ed laying out a potential scenario for a “lightning fast” war that Russia might wage against a NATO state, specifically focusing on the Baltic nations.
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Russia → publish → nations
The article was deleted because it did not “align” with editorial policy or Russia’s state policy, RIA said.
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RIA → delete → policy
U.S. allies have little doubt that the broad pattern reflects the Kremlin increasingly pushing the boundaries.
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Kremlin → have → boundaries
“With these incidents now so frequent and so brazen, it is increasingly difficult to distinguish them from actual acts of war,” said Katja Bego, a senior research fellow with the Europe program at London-based think tank Chatham House.
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Bego → distinguish → House
“The Kremlin is playing with fire here: The risk of more serious escalation — even if unintended — is very real.”
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risk → play → escalation
Baltic states urge caution
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states → urge → caution
There is a mounting sense that something must be done, but what?
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something → be → ?
Lithuania has made plans for the evacuation of older adults and is lifting its ban on hosting nuclear weapons.
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Lithuania → make → weapons
Finland has warned citizens to be “mentally prepared” for new sabotage attacks.
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Finland → warn → attacks
France is putting a plan in place to protect the country’s critical infrastructure.
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France → put → infrastructure
Hanging over all of this is Article 5, NATO’s collective defense clause.
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Article → hang → this
For Moscow, escalating hybrid attacks could highlight Western divisions over how best to respond and undermine the alliance at a time when the U.S. commitment to this mutual defense has been in question.
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commitment → escalate → question
“I think they are trying to show Europe they can act without consequences, and more recently, to show Europe that the U.S. will not come to their rescue.
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U.S. → think → rescue
It’s worrisome,” said William Alberque, a former senior NATO official based in Berlin.
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Alberque → ’ → Berlin
Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Wednesday and told a media briefing that the U.S. was concerned that the Ukraine war could “metastasize and spread into other places ...
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war → meet → places
He added: “We watch reports carefully, and we raise them with the right people at the right levels.”
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we → add → levels
A State Department spokesperson told NBC News: “We continue to monitor Russia’s hybrid activities in Europe and are working closely with our allies and partners to strengthen resilience against the hybrid threat.”
Despite the spreading sense of alarm, some in Europe are urging against getting carried away.
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some → tell → Europe
NATO’s Baltic member states have not changed their security assessments, saying there is no imminent risk of a Russian invasion while much of Moscow’s military resources are tied up in Ukraine — and struggling to make progress there.
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much → change → progress
…and 14 more, not listed.
The Aporia
