Police stand next to a device for drone detection during the opening of the new DLR drone security center at Cochstedt airport, Aug.18, in Hecklingen, Germany. gettyimagesbank-TNS

Russian President Vladimir Putin, frustrated by his bogged-down war in Ukraine, is trying to intimidate the European nations that — given President Donald Trump’s severe cuts in aid to Kyiv — are now Ukrainians’ main military, economic and diplomatic supporters.

A few of the many examples: an explosive-laden drone found at the airport in Leipzig, Germany; vital undersea cables cut or damaged in the Baltic Sea; parcels exploding at logistics facilities in Germany, Poland and the UK; a failed arson attack at a Czech bus depot; a Polish railway damaged by explosives; and a steady increase in the intensity of cyberattacks against North Atlantic Treaty Organization members.

While Moscow of course denies involvement, Western intelligence and law-enforcement agencies have convincingly attributed these attacks to the Kremlin, and in some cases obtained indictments and convictions.

Such incidents are known as hybrid or gray-zone warfare. The idea is to undertake sabotage and initiate disruptions across a wide spectrum of civilian targets that fall short of actual warfare, and in a way that makes it difficult to attribute them to Moscow.

What may seem to be isolated attacks can have far broader consequences. This intensifying pattern by Russia could trigger NATO’s Article 4 —........

© The Korea Times