NATO is ready to respond to Russian actions in the “gray zone” of the Russian-Ukrainian war, including sabotage, cyberattacks and drone incidents, while the best response to such actions is increased support for Ukraine, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said.
“We have all the necessary response options. You will not always see them publicly. They will not always be symmetrical. It will not always be ‘an eye for an eye,’” Rutte said at a press conference with Lithuanian Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevičius on Tuesday.
He said the term “hybrid threats” does not fully reflect the nature of such actions, describing them instead as “gray zone” tactics. According to Rutte, these include the use of drones, sabotage and cyberattacks. He said an increasing number of NATO countries are also taking measures to complicate the activities of Russia’s “shadow fleet”, including Sweden, the United Kingdom, Belgium and France.
“The best response to any actions in this gray zone carried out by Russia is more support for Ukraine, not less support for Ukraine,” the NATO chief said.
He said Russia seeks to divide the allies, make them lose focus on Ukraine and concentrate on discussing Russian actions.
“We should not be naive about Russia,” Rutte said, adding that NATO continues to invest in defense to remain stronger in the coming years.
The NATO secretary general also said the allies must remain calm and continue supporting Ukraine. According to him, Russia knows that NATO is stronger, but the Alliance needs to continue building up its defense capabilities.
Earlier, Rutte said NATO was strengthening its integrated air and missile defense, including developing layered capabilities to counter drones. He said the Alliance sought to strengthen cheaper means of countering drones so as not to use expensive fighter jets against relatively inexpensive targets.
“Russia continues its reckless campaign of hostile actions against NATO allies,” Rutte said.
