Arab News | NATO urges calm, says Russian hybrid campaign not stopping Ukraine support

BRUSSELS: NATO chief Mark Rutte urged “calm” Tuesday over Russia’s campaign of sabotage in Europe, saying it was failing to undercut support for Ukraine.

Estonia earlier Tuesday became the latest country to officially blame Russia for such an incident, saying Moscow’s “special services” had ordered an arson attack on a defence firm in August.

“Russia continues its reckless campaign of hostile actions against NATO allies. It is trying to weaken our resolve and stop our support for Ukraine. But Russia is failing. It is failing on the battlefield in Ukraine and it is failing to undermine our unity and support for Ukraine,” Rutte told journalists.

European governments say Moscow is stepping up a campaign of sabotage and interference against Ukraine’s backers as the Kremlin’s troops struggle on the front line there, more than four years after their February 2022 invasion.

The Estonian incident came just after the discovery of an explosive-laden drone at an airport in Russia that Berlin pinned on Moscow.

Rutte admitted that Russia’s activities “can have an impact — and sometimes they have an impact, clearly.”

But he urged NATO countries to remain “calm, carry on and support Ukraine.”

“We should not be naive… about Russia, but they know we are stronger,” Rutte said.

Speaking alongside the NATO chief, Lithuania’s Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevicius said intelligence services had no proof Moscow was imminently prepping for something bigger.

“It’s a must to say if a threat is there for society, but you can’t exaggerate and say something is happening in the upcoming months or weeks,” he said.

“The risk remains, but it’s not fluctuating…, not increasing or decreasing.”