Exclusive interview • The attitude towards the Russian shadow fleet • “will take powerful action”
In the protection of the darkness, the intervention force struck against the vessel Vezhen, which was then suspected of a cable sabotage. From a military helicopter, the intervention force was celebrated at the same time as the Coast Guard boarded the ship by boat. A similar action was carried out in the middle days of the Finnish intervention force, called “Björnligan”, which boarded the suspected ship Eagle S.
“We can deter captains and operators of these vessels by making it clear that we will act vigorously,” says NATO’s assistant secretary general of innovation, hybrid and cyber issues, James Appathurai in an interview with TV4 News.
NATO wants to avoid a “boiling frog situation”
The many suspected cable sabotics in the Baltic Sea have led to a tense situation. NATO has strengthened its presence and the action from both Finnish and Swedish authorities has become more robust.
NATO’s Deputy Secretary General of Innovation, Hybrid and Cyber issues, James Appathurai, believes the situation has worsened. NATO sees an increased threat to underwater cables and will act.
– We will take more powerful measures to protect this infrastructure, says Appathurai.
He states that NATO is now reviewing his work so as not to end up in a “boiling frog situation”, where NATO is slowly getting used to various hybrid attacks.
– The threats are much more extensive than before. The new element we have seen in recent years is sabotage on land and also against underwater infrastructure, they are more and they are growing, says Appathurai.
Must be better at responding and communicating
According to the NATO peak, the alliance must be better at defending itself against cyber and hybrid attacks. If it is always possible to withstand the attacks – then the opponent will stop trying. At the same time, he believes that NATO must be better at responding.
– It is not always possible to play defense – you also have to be able to give an asymmetrical or symmetrical response. It also means that we must know our red lines and communicate around them, and have a robust response if crossed, says Appathurai
He believes that it has worked in previous incidents and mentions, among other things, examples such as when Russia placed fire bombs on the plane in Europe and conducted a hacker attack on an American oil pipeline. Then the White House contacted the Kremlin.
– Clearly communicating red lines has an effect. There may be a deterrent even in hybrid warfare.
Hybrid attacks can trigger NATO Article 5
Since the full -scale invasion of Ukraine, the attacks from Russia have increased. However, this does not mean that they will cease if you reach a possible peace in Ukraine.
– Russia has ambitions that extend beyond Ukraine, which they consider to be hindered by what they call the collective western world. This means that they are not allowed to impose their will or change boundaries. Since they cannot attack us militarily because of NATO, they carry out these hybrid attacks, says Appathurai.
Although the various Russian attacks do not take place by military means, they may trigger NATO Article 5 in theory, which deals with mutual defense guarantees
– Our policy says that hybrid attacks can, individually or collectively, reach a level where allies politically decides that it corresponds to an armed attack and can thus trigger Article 5, says Appathurai.