NATO is evaluating the possibility of shifting its response to Russian cyber operations, sabotage, and airspace violations, Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone, the alliance’s top military officer, told Financial Times.
Dragone explained that the alliance is reassessing how it deals with hybrid threats, which have intensified across Europe in recent years.
“We are looking at everything… In the cyber domain, we are somewhat reactive. Being more aggressive or proactive rather than reactive is something we are considering,” Dragone said.
He also suggested that in certain circumstances, a “pre-emptive strike” could be considered a form of defensive action, though he noted such an approach is “far from our normal way of thinking and operating.”
European countries have faced a range of hybrid incidents in recent years, including cyberattacks, sabotage suspected to be linked to Russia, and repeated damage to undersea infrastructure in the Baltic Sea.
While some NATO members, particularly in Eastern Europe, have called for a tougher stance, Dragone stressed that any change requires careful review of legal and jurisdictional boundaries. “Being more aggressive compared to the other side’s aggression could be an option. [The questions are] legal frameworks, jurisdictional frameworks, who will execute this?” he said.
Dragone highlighted NATO’s Baltic Sentry mission as an example of effective deterrence. The operation deploys allied ships, aircraft, and maritime drones to monitor critical infrastructure in the Baltic Sea following multiple undersea cable incidents in 2023 and 2024. “Since the start of Baltic Sentry, nothing has happened. So that means this deterrence is working,” he told FT.
However, concerns remain after a Finnish court dismissed a case involving the Eagle S, a ship linked to Russia suspected of damaging undersea power and data cables, because the incident occurred in international waters. Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen noted that this effectively gives Russian vessels freedom of action in such waters. She added that taking a firmer stance is under consideration, but warned that allies “should not be hysterical” and must trust existing response frameworks.
Dragone emphasized that NATO’s central challenge is determining how to prevent future hybrid attacks. “How deterrence is achieved—through retaliation, through pre-emptive strike—is something we need to analyze deeply because in the future there may be even more pressure on this,” he said.
