Russia escalates hybrid attacks on NATO soil; alliance response tested

Russia is intensifying hybrid warfare, including arson, sabotage, cyberattacks, and influence operations, across European NATO territory, with Foreign Minister Lavrov confirming the intent to disrupt Western support for Ukraine. This deliberate escalation tests NATO's Article 5 threshold and forces the alliance to define a response to sub-threshold aggression. European states are bolstering security, and NATO is increasing intelligence sharing, but attribution remains difficult, and alliance response thresholds are ambiguous.