European governments are stepping up military and civilian preparations for a possible escalation by Russia, as officials warn that Moscow could intensify drone, missile, sabotage and cyber operations against NATO countries supporting Ukraine in the coming months.

The heightened concern has prompted preparations across the continent, from plans to protect critical infrastructure in France and hospitals in Germany to updated evacuation plans in Lithuania and heightened air defenses in Poland.

Russia and Ukraine have been at war since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of its neighbor in February 2022, with NATO countries providing Kyiv with extensive military and financial support while stopping short of directly entering the conflict.

French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday summoned political party leaders and presidential hopefuls to Elysee Palace’s crisis room for a meeting to brief attendees on confidential French intelligence assessments of the current security challenges.

“The Russian hybrid threat against Europeans and against France has intensified,” Macron told journalists after the meeting, adding that he had ordered “the government to prepare a plan to protect our critical infrastructure” and the “most sensitive” defense industry and technology sites against drone and cyberattacks.

Macron also backed a warning issued a day earlier by Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who said Russia could send drones or missiles into NATO territory in the coming months, calling the assessment “sound and well-documented.”

“There is a real risk that drones or other types of projectiles will enter the territory of one or several countries on the eastern flank and even cause destruction,” Tusk warned.

“The official narration will be that it’s an accident and there is no reason for NATO to think about a response,” he added.

Poland, which borders both Ukraine and Russian ally Belarus, has meanwhile stepped up its own military preparations. On Saturday, the Polish military launched preventive aviation operations and placed ground-based air-defense and radar reconnaissance systems on heightened readiness as Russia carried out strikes on Ukraine.

The move came a day after Tusk announced that Poland was joining an anti-ballistic missile coalition with Ukraine and other European allies.

“From today, Poland is part of this major project,” Tusk said after attending a........

© The Times of Israel