Understanding the conflict three years on.

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Last night, Russia invaded NATO. Any other description is an obfuscation. At least 19 Russian drones, some launched from Belarus (Moscow’s close ally), flew into Poland. NATO scrambled jets and activated air defenses. Dutch F-35s and Polish F-16s shot down at least three of the uncrewed aircraft. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said that military conflict was “closer than at any time since the Second World War.” Warsaw then invoked NATO’s Article 4, which can be used when the “territorial integrity, political independence or security” of a member state is “threatened.” The alliance will now enter into collective consultations to devise a response. This is one step shy of activating Article 5, NATO’s mutual defense clause.

It is worth pointing out that, for years now, Europe has already been confronting a series of unexplained and unattributed attacks: bombs on rail lines or in packages inside planes, arson attacks at warehouses filled with military equipment for Ukraine, potentially catastrophic jamming of GPS signals. These, by the way, are only the physical manifestations of so-called gray zone warfare, actions that harass an enemy without crossing the line into open combat. In addition to these and other acts of subversion, Moscow has also kept up an unceasing

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