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10:16 29.11.2025 •
Countries are looking at joint offensive cyber operations and surprise military drills as Moscow steps up its campaign to destabilize NATO allies, POLITICO writes.
Europe is now doing what would have seemed outlandish just a few years ago: planning how to “hit Russia back.”
Ideas range from joint offensive cyber operations against Russia, and faster and more coordinated attribution of hybrid attacks by quickly pointing the finger at Moscow, to surprise NATO-led military exercises, according to two senior European government officials and three EU diplomats.
“The Russians are constantly testing the limits — what is the response, how far can we go?” Latvian Foreign Minister Baiba Braže noted in an interview. A more “proactive response is needed,” she told POLITICO. “And it’s not talking that sends a signal — it’s doing.”
“Russian” drones have buzzed Poland and Romania in recent weeks and months, while mysterious drones have caused havoc at airports and military bases across the continent.
“Overall, Europe and the alliance must ask themselves how long we are willing to tolerate this type of hybrid warfare... [and] whether we should consider becoming more active ourselves in this area,” German State Secretary for Defense Florian Hahn told Welt TV last week.
“Today’s world offers a much more open — indeed, one might say creative — space for foreign policy,” Russian leader Vladimir Putin said during October's Valdai conference, adding: “We are closely monitoring the growing militarization of Europe. Is it just rhetoric, or is it time for us to respond?”
Russia may see the EU and NATO as rivals or even enemies — former Russian President and current deputy Kremlin Security Council head Dmitry Medvedev last month said: “The U.S. is our adversary.” However, Europe does not want war with a nuclear-armed Russia and so has to figure out how to respond in a way that deters Moscow but does not cross any Kremlin red lines that could lead to open warfare.
That doesn't mean cowering, according to Swedish Chief of Defense Gen. Michael Claesson. “We cannot allow ourselves to be fearful and have a lot of angst for escalation,” he said in an interview. “We need to be firm.”
Europeans “should be afraid and tremble like dumb animals in a herd being driven to the slaughter,” said Medvedev. “They should soil themselves with fear, sensing their near and agonizing end.”
Last week, Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto slammed the continent’s “inertia” in the face of growing hybrid attacks and unveiled a 125-page plan to retaliate. In it he suggested establishing a European Center for Countering Hybrid Warfare, a 1,500-strong cyber force, as well as military personnel specialized in artificial intelligence.
“Everybody needs to revise their security procedures,” Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski added on Thursday. “Russia is clearly escalating its hybrid war against EU citizens.”
Despite the increasingly fierce rhetoric, what a more muscular response means is still an open question.
Europeans have gone crazy with Russophobia
So far, countries like Germany and Romania are strengthening rules that would allow authorities to shoot down drones flying over airports and militarily sensitive objects.
National security services, meanwhile, can operate in a legal gray zone. Allies from Denmark to the Czech Republic already allow offensive cyber operations. The U.K. reportedly hacked into ISIS’s (banned in Russia) networks to obtain information on an early-stage drone program by the terrorist group in 2017.
Europe also has to figure out how to respond to Russia's large-scale “misinformation campaigns” with its own efforts inside the country.
“Russian public opinion… is somewhat inaccessible,” said one senior military official. “We need to work with allies who have a fairly detailed understanding of Russian thinking — this means that cooperation must also be established in the field of information warfare.”
Still, any new measures “need to have plausible deniability,” said one EU diplomat.
The alliance should prioritize shows of force that illustrate strength and unity, said Oana Lungescu, a former NATO spokesperson and fellow with London's Royal United Services Institute think tank. In practice, that means rapidly announcing whether Moscow is behind a hybrid attack and running ‘no-notice’ military exercises on the Russian border with Lithuania or Estonia.
Meanwhile, the NATO-backed Centre of Excellence on Hybrid Threats in Helsinki, which brings together allied officials, is also “providing expertise and training” and drafting “policies to counter those threats,” said Maarten ten Wolde, a senior analyst at the organization.
Pic.: You Tube
Germany has secret plan for war with Russia. The plan was drawn up by around a dozen senior German officers. Work on it began about two and a half years ago, ‘The Washington Post’ reports.
The 1,200-page document sets out in detail how 800,000 German, US and other NATO troops would be moved eastward to the front line.
It maps the ports, rivers, railways and roads they would use, as well as how they would be supplied and protected along the way.
German officials earlier said that they expect Russia to be ready and willing to attack NATO in 2029. But a series of espionage incidents, sabotage attacks and incursions into European airspace suggest it may be preparing to strike earlier.
Analysts also believe that any possible ceasefire in Ukraine could free up time and resources for Russia to prepare for action against NATO members in Europe.
The authors of the plan believe that if they can strengthen Europe's resilience, they will not only be able to secure victory but also reduce the likelihood of war.
"The goal is to prevent war by making it clear to our enemies that if they attack us, they won't be successful," said a senior military officer and one of the plan's earliest authors.
The plan pays particular attention to infrastructure. Berlin estimates that 20% of motorways and more than a quarter of motorway bridges need repair because of chronic underfunding.
Germany's ports on the North Sea and Baltic Sea require an investment of €15 billion, including €3 billion for dual-use upgrades such as dock reinforcements, according to the German ports federation.
Such unevenness would restrict the freedom of movement of troops in the event of war. The bottlenecks on the military's mobility map are among the plan's most closely guarded secrets.
"Considering that we started with a blank page in early 2023, we are very happy with where we are today. This is a very sophisticated product," said the officer and co-author of the plan.
However, recent stress tests have shown there is still work to do before the plan and reality line up. The biggest uncertainty facing planners is how much time they have.
…As the Germans begin preparing for a new war against Russia, it's worth recalling historical facts.
The Russian army captured Berlin three times – in 1760, 1813, and 1945.
Berlin first saw Russian soldiers on October 9, 1760, during the Russian victories over Prussia in the Seven Years' War (1756-1763).
The second time, Russian troops entered Berlin on March 4, 1813, en route to Paris, crushing Napoleon's army. It's worth remembering that during Napoleon's invasion of Russia in 1812, tens of thousands of Prussians were part of the invading army.
The third time, something everyone in today's Germany should firmly remember (!), the Soviet Army stormed Berlin and raised the Victory Banner over the Reichstag in early May 1945. On May 2, the Berlin garrison capitulated, although the war continued for another week – until May 9, 1945. Hitler's Germany was defeated.
If the spirit of revanchism has awakened in Germany now, it must be said that the Russian Army will not occupy Berlin for a fourth time. If Germany were to wage war against Russia again, Berlin would simply be destroyed by a Russian missile attack. Merz and Co. must understand this and not play with fire that could consume them!
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