Assassination plots, disinformation, cyber attacks and sabotage.
Russia has stepped up its hybrid warfare.
NATO chief James Appathurai says the West has gotten used to it, which can be dangerous.
– There is a real possibility that any of these attacks could cause a significant number of casualties, says Appathurai.
Since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Russia has stepped up its hybrid warfare against the West and acts taking place today would never have been accepted a few years ago, according to NATO’s Deputy Director of Hybrid and Cyber Attacks and Innovation, James Appathurai.
– We see things now that would have been completely unacceptable five years ago, but somehow we have become used to it and it is very dangerous, says Appathurai in an interview with Sky News.
The NATO summit: Can lead to large numbers of dead
Recently, among other things, several cables have been damaged in the Baltic Sea, something that has been investigated as sabotage. Appathurai points out that sabotage against infrastructure and arson have increased, but also outright murder attempts.
– There is a real possibility that any of these attacks could cause a significant number of casualties, says Appathurai.
As an example, he cites the assassination attempt on the Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter in Salisbury in 2018. The chemical weapon Novichok was used in the attack. The dose in Salisbury was large enough to kill thousands of people.
Develops a new strategy
NATO is now developing a new strategy for how to understand, counter and respond to the attacks.
– We don’t want to end up in a situation where we haven’t thought through what our next move is, says Appathurai and adds:
– So that’s part of the reason why we’re going to practice all of this. And that includes military elements.
The latest strategy was developed by NATO in 2015, when the threat from the outside world looked different. During a summit in 2025, the new policy is supposed to be approved.
NATO must have clearer red lines
NATO has previously stated that a hybrid attack could trigger an armed response under NATO’s Article 5. However, where that line goes today is unclear according to Appathurai and work is now underway to become clearer both within NATO and vis-à-vis Russia.
– We need to work on becoming more clear about where these red lines go, which areas they are and which thresholds apply, says Appathurai, who did not want to answer directly if a hybrid attack could trigger NATO’s Article 5.
– What really worries me is that one of these attacks will have a big impact, says Appathurai.