Beyond Ukraine: Why Europe is preparing for a wider conflict
4 hours ago
- European countries are alarmed by Russian hybrid attacks and potential widening of war beyond Ukraine, prompting preparedness measures across France, Poland, UK, Germany, and Switzerland.
- The Suwałki Gap, a narrow corridor connecting NATO’s Baltic states to the rest of NATO, is a key vulnerability; recent Belarusian exercises there have raised alarms.
- Russia uses 'gray zone' operations like cyberattacks, sabotage, and drone strikes to test NATO without triggering conventional war, exploiting ambiguity and divisions within the alliance.
- The US charged five people in a Russian-linked network plotting attacks worldwide, including in the US, highlighting the global scope of the threat.
- NATO has released updated requirements for national resilience—covering governance, energy, food, water, healthcare, and communications—drawing lessons from Ukraine’s ability to maintain services under attack.
- Preparedness itself is now seen as a deterrent; Europe is taking urgent steps to convince Putin that aggression would fail, especially given uncertainty over US commitment under President Trump.
- European leaders acknowledge that deterrence depends on Putin’s perception; with US military stretched globally and Trump’s stance unclear, Europe is ending its post-Cold War complacency.