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NATO Chief Says Not All Responses to Russian Hybrid Attacks Will Be Public
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NATO has all the tools needed to respond to Russian sabotage and other hostile actions, while allies should remain calm and continue supporting Ukraine, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte stated on September 29, according to The Guardian.
Russian hybrid operations across Europe have increasingly combined sabotage, cyberattacks, drone incursions, and attacks on critical infrastructure while remaining below the threshold of conventional war, as UNITED24 Media recently detailed.
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Speaking at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Rutte was asked whether recent sabotage incidents against alliance members should still be described as “hybrid threats.”
The Guardian reported that he agreed the phrase can understate the seriousness of the threat.
“It sounds a bit cuddly,” Rutte stated, referring to the term “hybrid threat.”
He emphasized that NATO “has all the response options we need,” even if some measures are not made public. The Guardian wrote that Rutte urged allies not to overreact while continuing defense investments and support for Ukraine.
“I would urge some calm, because we are investing in our defense [and] Russia is not in a good place,” Rutte stated.
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He added that allies should “carry on, keep the support for Ukraine going,” describing continued assistance to Kyiv as the most effective response to Russian actions in the so-called grey zone.
“The best response to any action in this grey zone of what Russia is doing is more support for Ukraine,” Rutte stated, according to The Guardian.
Rutte also warned allies against underestimating Russia, while arguing that NATO retains a stronger overall position.
“We should not be naive about Russia,” he stated. “They know we are stronger and we have to make sure by carrying on with our investments that we are also stronger in two, three, five years from now.”
Pressed further on sabotage and other hybrid attacks, Rutte acknowledged that they “are having an impact.” The Guardian reported that he again stressed NATO has “all the response options: sometimes visible, sometimes not.”
Rutte also emphasized the importance of publicly attributing hostile incidents to Russia when evidence allows. He praised Estonia for doing so on September 29 after authorities linked an August arson attack against defense company Milrem Robotics in Tallinn to Russian special services.
“I applaud it,” Rutte stated.
NATO is acting “in the spirit of staying calm, carrying on,” he added. “We are stronger, and they know it.”
The EU had recently considered a NATO-style emergency protocol to coordinate collective responses to Russian sabotage, arson, cyberattacks, and other hybrid operations. The proposed mechanism was intended to address hostile actions that remain below the threshold for triggering NATO’s Article 5.
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