After four years of war, Russian President Vladimir Putin has achieved a double failure: He hasn’t conquered Ukraine, or even its eastern Donbas region. And his attempts to intimidate Europe through sabotage and subversion have backfired, triggering strong pushback from European leaders.

Europe’s escalating resistance to Putin is an often-overlooked strategic factor in this conflict. Rather than being cowed by Russia’s “shadow war,” European nations are countering with their own disruption operations. Some European officials argue that Europe must now begin to plan seriously for the possibility of all-out war.

After four years of war, Russian President Vladimir Putin has achieved a double failure: He hasn’t conquered Ukraine, or even its eastern Donbas region. And his attempts to intimidate Europe through sabotage and subversion have backfired, triggering strong pushback from European leaders.

Europe’s escalating resistance to Putin is an often-overlooked strategic factor in this conflict. Rather than being cowed by Russia’s “shadow war,” European nations are countering with their own disruption operations. Some European officials argue that Europe must now begin to plan seriously for the possibility of all-out war.

“Every missile and drone that strikes Ukraine only strengthens our resolve,” British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said Tuesday during a visit to Kyiv. “Putin thinks that he can outlast the U.K. and our allies. He is sorely mistaken.”

Security officials from many major European countries have delivered similar warnings to Putin in recent weeks. They’ve announced new sanctions and called for tougher intelligence operations to counter Russia. This show of defiance is impressive in part because Europeans are acting largely on their own, without certainty that the United States will support their challenge to Moscow.

Russia “is preparing for the possibility of a conflict with NATO and is conducting activities to test the West’s willingness to escalate,” argued a Feb. 19 report by the Dutch intelligence agencies, titled “Between War and Peace.” The report........

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