FT: NATO is considering the possibility of a "preemptive strike" on Russia

NATO is considering a "pre-emptive strike" against Russia in response to hybrid attacks, Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone, head of the NATO military Committee, told the Financial Times.

"We are thinking about acting more aggressively and preemptively instead of reacting," Dragone said.

Some diplomats, especially from Eastern European countries, are calling on the alliance to stop simply reacting and strike back, writes FT.

According to the admiral, a "preventive strike" can be considered a "defensive action."

"However, this goes beyond our usual way of thinking and behavior," he noted.

"Perhaps we should act more aggressively than our opponent. Issues in the legal framework, in the jurisdiction: who will do this?" he added.

The newspaper mentions the NATO Baltic Sentry mission to patrol the Baltic Sea, which prevented the recurrence of incidents involving damage to submarine cables.

"Nothing has happened since the beginning of Operation Baltic Sentry. So, this deterrence is working," Dragone believes.

However, he admitted that one of the problems is that NATO countries have "much more restrictions than our opponents, because of ethics, because of law, because of jurisdiction."

"I don't want to say that this is a losing position, but it is more difficult than our opponent's. We need to analyze in depth how deterrence is achieved — through retaliatory actions, through a preemptive strike?" — the admiral concluded.

Politico, citing sources, wrote that the countries The EU, amid sabotage and drone incidents, is considering a "retaliatory strike" against Russia — in particular, offensive cyber operations and sudden military exercises.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said that "all NATO countries are at war with Russia." Speaking about incidents with drones in European countries, Putin claimed that Russia has no drones "that fly to Lisbon." Presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov called the accusations against Russia groundless, RBC reminds.