NATO is considering “pre-emptive” measures against Russia following a surge in hybrid attacks across Europe, Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone, chair of the alliance’s Military Committee, told Financial Times. 

Dragone said the alliance may need to be “more aggressive” or be more “proactive instead of reactive” to deter Moscow from continuing its campaign of drone incursions and cyberattacks. He added that such actions could still fall under defensive doctrine.

He highlighted the Baltic Sentry mission, saying, “from the beginning of Baltic Sentry, nothing has happened. So this means that this deterrence is working.”

The alliance launched Baltic Sentry earlier this year to monitor ships in the Baltic Sea after critical undersea cables were damaged allegedly by Russian-linked vessels.

The mission follows incidents like the Christmas Day damage to Finland and Estonia’s Estlink 2 power cable and the Nord Stream pipeline sabotage in 2022. 

In recent months, NATO has also faced repeated airspace incursions over Poland, Romania, and Estonia.

Meanwhile, Moscow denounced Dragone’s remarks as “extremely irresponsible,” with Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova adding they show NATO’s readiness to escalate tensions with Russia.