Russia Conducting 'Shadow War' To Destabilize European Countries, Leaders Say

WASHINGTON -- Russia is carrying out a "shadow war" against European countries through cyberattacks, disinformation, sabotage, and other measures and it's time to recognize it and respond, according to European leaders attending the NATO summit.

"There is a shadow war going on that is clear in all those domains," Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas said at a panel discussion on July 10 on the sidelines of the summit in Washington.

"I think we have to raise awareness," said Kallas, who was joined by Czech President Petr Pavel and Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen. "We see this in our intelligence, but I'm not sure that everybody does see this in the same way.”

Russia is believed to be behind a series of cyber-intrusions, arson attacks, and other nonkinetic attacks across Europe this year.

Pavel, a retired Czech Army general and former chairman of the NATO Military Committee, told the panel that Russia was in "continuous conflict" with European countries. The tools Moscow is using, he said, are "much cheaper" and "more effective" than bombs and guns.

The Czech Republic was among several European countries that accused Russia in May of conducting cyberattacks on their defense and aerospace industries and on political parties. Russia has denied involvement.

Czech intelligence and security services also accused Russia of being behind the 2014 explosion of a munitions depot in Vrbetice.

Russia's goal is to sow doubt among the public so they lose confidence in their institutions and put pressure on leaders, Pavel said.

"We need to take not only passive measures, but also active measures to defend ourselves against this kind of warfare," Pavel added, without stating what steps Europe should take.

Russia began testing out its hybrid capabilities on European countries two decades ago. Estonia was one of the first major victims, when Russia unleashed a massive cyberattack in 2007 that blocked websites and paralyzed the country's entire Internet infrastructure.

Estonia's Kallas said Russia was getting bolder with every attack, comparing European countries' predicament to frogs in boiling water. She said the issue is being discussed inside NATO.

Russia is "trying to destabilize all of us, and they are using different measures," Danish Prime Minister Frederiksen told the conference.

She said the spate of attacks throughout Europe was not isolated and countries had to "take it more seriously."

Leaders must show "that we are willing to do whatever it takes to defend Europe" from such attacks, Frederiksen said.

During a separate panel on the Nordic region, Finnish Defense Minister Antti Hakkanen said that Russia was employing new hybrid tools, like migration.

Finland closed its long border with Russia last year to stop a surge of arrivals from countries including Syria. Finland, which joined NATO in 2023, accused Moscow of seeking to destabilize its society by weaponizing migration, an assertion the Kremlin denies.

"That is why we have to run fast and do closer cooperation between NATO countries," Hakkanen said.

Swedish Defense Minister Pal Jonson told the Nordic panel that countries need to take a "whole of society" approach to defend against Russian hybrid activities, such as developing strong interagency and public-private cooperation.

"[Make] sure your security services are working well with the police and the military intelligence. I think it is really crucial. We have to be able to share intelligence [with the private sector] going two ways," he told the panel.

Kallas, Pavel, and Frederiksen are among the leaders from all 32 NATO states who have gathered for the NATO summit to discuss strengthening their collective defense as well as new measures to support Ukraine.

Frederiksen said European countries will likely have to spend more than the target of 2 percent of gross domestic product on defense each year if they hope to defend themselves against growing global threats, including an aggressive Russia.

"I see no signs, no signs in Russia and in the Russian behavior that they are going to stop with Ukraine," Frederiksen said.

Pavel said NATO must step up aid to Ukraine so it can drive Russian forces back. He also said the West may have to accept that parts of Ukrainian territory may be "temporarily occupied."

However, he added, "such a situation shouldn't prevent us from going on with the Ukrainian integration into NATO, or the EU, and pushing on restoring their full sovereignty."

Kallas said Ukraine's nonaligned status left it open to attack by Russia and called for the country to be admitted into NATO.

"Ukraine is having this war because they are in a gray zone. My conviction is that Ukraine will have to become a member of NATO [if] we want to get rid of conflicts," she said.