There is a “real possibility“ of an unconventional attack by Russia against NATO - such as sabotage or arson - leading to “significant” casualties, a senior Alliance official told Sky News, dariknews.bg reported.
James Appathurai, who is updating NATO's strategy for tracking and deterring the so-called. hybrid warfare, said allies need to be clearer with each other and with Moscow about what level of hostility in the grey zone could trigger an allied response, including the use of military force.
He said alleged Russian hybrid attacks in Europe, the US and Canada were growing to a level that five years ago would have been “completely unacceptable”.
Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, there has been a particular increase in “kinetic” actions - such as cutting vital undersea cables, sabotaging buildings and planting incendiary devices on cargo planes.
”We can definitely count dozens. Up to 100 for sure. "But then there are many foiled plots," Appathurai said.
He said the increase in attacks was the Kremlin's response to Western military support for Ukraine, as well as the belief that the West was anti-Russian - something the official said was not true.
Russia has previously denied accusations of sabotage, cyber-hacking and assassinations.