Russia's increasingly bold attacks in Europe are posing a dilemma for the continent's leaders: are they ready to respond to Moscow with more than sanctions and diplomatic protests, writes The Wall Street Journal, quoted by Focus.
According to journalists, the answer has not yet been found. This week, German and European officials said that Russia crossed the line by striking a German airport with drones loaded with explosives. Berlin's reaction, however, did not deviate from the scenario it had repeated after previous provocations by Russia.
It is noted that the European members of NATO have so far shown no desire to resort to the alliance, based on the doctrine of collective defense, for anything other than protecting their own borders and providing military assistance to Ukraine.
Instead, the Europeans want to present Russian President Vladimir Putin with dilemmas, primarily by strengthening support for Kiev.
However, some Europeans note that their leaders' campaign remains too timid to deter the Kremlin's provocations. Nico Lange, former chief of staff of the German Ministry of Defense, says:
"Putin must be pressured where it hurts the most".
According to him, the entire Russian "shadow fleet" should be blocked, Russian diplomats should be banned from moving freely between EU countries, and pressure should be increased on other countries that circumvent EU sanctions to help Russia.
"With every hybrid attack, Germany should increase its aid to Ukraine," Lange adds.
Importantly, politicians across Europe express broad support for sanctions or expulsion of Russians, although many officials say a more decisive response should come from the EU or NATO.
Europe's options are limited by the long list of measures already taken. While options still exist, many of them are complex or expensive – for example, preventing third-party complicity in circumventing Russian sanctions – or painful for European voters.