Alerts are mounting across the Atlantic that Moscow may be preparing to carry out direct military strikes against NATO member states as part of a broader strategy to test the alliance’s resolve and defensive capabilities. Kurt Volker, the former United States ambassador to NATO, discussed these escalating tensions in a recent interview with NPR’s Elissa Nadworny.
Volker highlighted growing anxieties regarding what he described as “hybrid attacks”—a term encompassing a wide array of covert or unconventional warfare tactics that Russia has employed in the past. Experts warn that such operations could serve as a precursor to more overt military aggression, potentially drawing the organization into a direct confrontation.
The discussion underscores the delicate security landscape currently facing European leaders, who are grappling with how to effectively deter further provocation while avoiding an immediate escalation into full-scale conflict with Moscow.
Does Volker suggest how we differentiate between a probe and an actual attack? That gray area is exactly where things could go wrong.
Hybrid attacks are already happening. Calling them probes makes it sound theoretical, but the stakes are terrifyingly real right now.