European Union capitals are quietly drafting emergency response plans for a lethal hybrid attack on the continent, according to a Politico investigation published on Wednesday, October 7, Politico reported.
Ambassadors Meet Behind Closed Doors at EU Headquarters
Ambassadors from the 27 member states have convened in restrictive sessions without phones or assistants to debate confidential crisis scenarios, Politico reported. Two diplomats confirmed that a meeting on Wednesday, October 1, specifically addressed attacks capable of producing a high volume of casualties on European soil. Senior officials told the publication that current operations lack fatalities purely by chance. Discussions have focused on immediate operational deployments during the first hours of a crisis, including dispatching emergency intervention teams, releasing emergency EU funds for affected states, and coordinating institutional communications.
Escalating Sabotage Incidents Drive Urgent Brussels Debates
The closed-door talks follow a series of hostile incidents across Europe that officials attribute to Moscow. On the night of August 4 to 5, security forces discovered an explosive-laden drone inside a secure zone at Leipzig-Halle Airport in Germany near an Antonov Airlines cargo plane. In late September, a fire struck a Starlink ground station in Poland. Polish Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Affairs Krzysztof Gawkowski stated on public television that the sabotage was intentionally designed to cut internet access for institutions, including the Ukrainian military. Meanwhile, in the Black Sea, two merchant vessels were struck by drones within Bulgaria’s exclusive economic zone during the night of Monday to Tuesday, sinking one ship and leaving its crew missing. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky blamed Russia for the maritime attack, though Bulgarian authorities have not yet confirmed the origin of the drones.
Defense Ministers Weigh Collective Response and NATO Overlap
European defense ministers met in Brussels to establish a collective emergency mechanism for hybrid threats. European Commissioner for Defense Andrius Kubilius told the Financial Times that facing hybrid warfare requires a hybrid defense. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen proposed an emergency security protocol modeled on Article 4 of the NATO treaty, which allows any member state to demand urgent consultations when its territorial integrity or security is threatened. However, divisions persist among member capitals over whether a new EU mechanism would duplicate existing NATO structures. German State Secretary at the Ministry of Defense Sebastian Hartmann emphasized the need for a joint approach between NATO and the EU, while European Commission Vice-President Kaja Kallas acknowledged initial divergences among ministers during a press briefing.
French Intelligence Highlights Rising Regional Risks
French authorities have publicly acknowledged the severity of the threat. French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez stated on BFMTV and RMC that intelligence services across Europe and France have formally characterized the Russian hybrid warfare threat, pointing specifically to the Leipzig drone incident and unauthorized drone flights over multiple European airports. Nuñez noted that France has not yet experienced major physical sabotage or drone incursions on its domestic territory, though the country remains targeted by frequent cyberattacks. Concurrently, French President Emmanuel Macron reaffirmed regional security commitments, declaring on September 19 that European security is directly tied to the outcome in Ukraine.
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