Why Russia is attacking Europe without declaring war
Russia has massively increased covert attacks on Europe since 2022. These include sabotage, cyber strikes and drone raids. They stop short of open war.
Russia is waging what experts call an undeclared war against Europe. The tactics include sabotage, cyber attacks, GPS jamming and strikes on undersea cables.
Russia attacked Germany's Leipzig Airport with drones in 2024. According to the United States Congressional Research Service, Russian attacks in Europe quadrupled from 2023 to 2024.
These operations stay below the threshold of formal warfare. That makes them hard to trace to Russia and lets Russia deny involvement.
- Quadrupled from 2023 to 2024
- Attack increase
- February 2022
- Invasion start
- Nord Stream in September 2022
- Pipeline sabotage
- NATO European member states
- Target
Why it mattersThese attacks kill civilians and damage critical infrastructure. They test how far NATO will push back before responding militarily.
AustraliaNo direct Australian effect yet; if Russia expands operations into AUKUS partner territory or ally shipping lanes, Australia's defence commitments could escalate.
✓ Claims checked against the source. checked 51 d ago
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