Russia accused of hybrid warfare against Europe. What does that mean?

Europe needs to confront the reality of the “hybrid war” being waged against it, according to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who told EU MPs that a series of incidents were not “random harassment” but part of an orchestrated campaign to disrupt and weaken the bloc.

Recent drone and airspace attacks, cyberattacks and election interference were just some of the incidents von der Leyen cited as examples of hybrid warfare against Europe.

“In the last two weeks alone, MiG fighters have violated Estonia’s airspace and drones have flown over critical areas in Belgium, Poland, Romania, Denmark and Germany. Flights have been grounded, jets have been scrambled and countermeasures have been taken to ensure the safety of our citizens,” von der Leyen said in a speech to the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, on Wednesday.

“Make no mistake. This is part of a worrying pattern of increasing threats. Across our Union, undersea cables have been cut, airports and logistics centers have been paralyzed by cyber attacks and elections have been the target of malicious influence campaigns,” von der Leyen said, emphasizing: “This is a hybrid war and we must take it very seriously.”

Although Von der Leyen did not hold Moscow directly responsible for all these events, she said it was clear that “Russia wants to sow the seeds of division.”

Moscow has long been accused of being behind numerous “hybrid” attacks on its European neighbors but has repeatedly denied these accusations. CNBC has contacted the Kremlin for a response to von der Leyen’s latest remarks and is awaiting a response.

So what is hybrid warfare or warfare? Simply put, it’s a way to wage some kind of war without appearing to do so.

There is no definitive definition of hybrid warfare, but defense, military and security experts agree that it essentially blends traditional military methods with more destructive or irregular tactics designed to disrupt, distract and weaken opponents.

European countries on the periphery of the EU, or the Baltic countries bordering Russia, such as Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, or Eastern European countries such as Romania and Poland, are increasingly exposed to hybrid warfare attacks.

These incidents range from the sabotage of energy and telecommunications infrastructure, such as undersea cables, to attempts by Russian jets or submarines to briefly enter NATO airspace or waters.

Russia has denied being behind many of these incidents, although it has tended not to comment on its jets entering NATO airspace or drone incidents This led to the closure of Danish airports and disruption of flights. Some European officials blamed Russia for the outage, but officials said they had yet to find evidence of Russian interference.

Russia’s campaign of hybrid activity in Europe has expanded significantly since the start of Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine three years ago. a report It was published earlier this year by geopolitical and security intelligence service Dragonfly.

219 cases of suspected Russian hybrid warfare have been documented in Europe since 2014, including sabotage, assassination, and electromagnetic attacks such as GPS jamming. 86% of these events have occurred since early 2022, with almost half (46%) occurring in 2024 alone.

The Baltic states, Finland, Germany, Norway, Poland and the United Kingdom will likely remain primary targets due to their strong support for Ukraine, the report said.

European officials are under no illusions that now is the time to act to strengthen regional security and defense against malicious activity.

NATO members pledged earlier this year to increase defense spending to 5% of GPS domestic product, and Europe has also pledged to mobilize its defense sector to meet these requirements. Russia poses a “persistent threat to European security,” Luxembourg Prime Minister Luc Frieden told CNBC last week.