US, Europe worry Russia is testing NATO with hybrid attacks and sabotage

NEW YORK – After an explosives-laden drone was discovered near a Ukrainian cargo plane at a German airport, European leaders did something they’d stopped short of doing before: publicly blame Russia.

For years they’d suspected that Russian President Vladimir Putin was behind acts of sabotage across Europe, but there was little or no evidence to prove it. But recently, Moscow is raising even more suspicions.

Russian submarines have attempted to disable critical subsea cables in the Arctic. Russian drones have repeatedly violated Latvian, Lithuanian and Estonian airspace. And Polish authorities recently blamed Russia for starting a fire at a factory producing weapons for Ukraine.

The aggression has marked an escalation in the standoff between NATO leaders and Putin, as the United States, Canada and Europe seek to deter Russia and support Ukraine without being dragged directly into the war.

“We see them really increasing their attacks,” Kaja Kallas, the EU’s foreign policy chief, told USA TODAY. “They are testing how far they can go.”

As Russia has incurred severe losses on the battlefield, Putin has stepped up his attempts to scare Ukraine’s allies out of supporting them through so-called hybrid attacks, European officials and experts say. Hybrid warfare typically refers…

Original source: https://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/