Danger for alliance increases: NATO advisor believes hybrid attack with many victims is possible

Danger for alliance increases
NATO advisor believes hybrid attack with many victims is possible

December 29, 2024, 6:42 p.m

Sabotage, complete murder, damage to infrastructure: hybrid attacks on NATO member states have taken off. A representative of the security alliance warns of these unconventional attacks – which could cause a “significant number of victims” in the future.

A NATO official has warned of an unconventional attack on the alliance that could result in many casualties or significant economic damage. Attacks in the form of sabotage, assassination plots or damage to the infrastructure would have been assumed, said James Appathurai, who is responsible for strategies to defend against hybrid attacks at NATO and also advises the Secretary General, told Sky News in an interview.

The broadcaster published excerpts from the interview in a segment about Russia’s hybrid warfare. In it, Appathurai referred to the poison attack on former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter in Great Britain in 2018. The accusation of the Novichok chemical weapon could potentially kill thousands of people, the report also says. “There is a real prospect that one of these attacks will cause a significant number of casualties or significant economic damage.” NATO had to be prepared for this in order to know what to do next. Moscow rejects British allegations of being responsible for the poison attack.

There have already been up to a hundred such attacks, but many failed, said Apparthurai. “We are now experiencing what would have been completely unacceptable five years ago, but we have become increasingly used to it.” This is very dangerous. A characteristic of hybrid attacks is that it is difficult to identify those responsible and hold them accountable. Appathurai said NATO allies need to define more clearly among themselves and with Moscow what level of hostilities could trigger an allied response.

Damage to underwater infrastructure has recently occurred more frequently in the Baltic Sea. A few days ago an underwater power cable was damaged off Finland. It is being checked whether it could be sabotage. The investigators are focusing on a ship that the EU associates with Russia. After the cable failed, NATO announced that it wanted to strengthen its presence in the Baltic Sea.