The U.S. State Department has warned that Russia’s hybrid missiles against Western countries will be used in response to Ukraine’s first use of U.S.-made long-range missiles against targets inside Russia, after the Biden administration used U.S.-made long-range missiles for the first time against targets inside Russia. He said he was “very” concerned about Russia’s hybrid war operations against the West amid concerns that war operations could escalate. How to use them.
Russia has vowed an “appropriate” response to the new policy and has changed its nuclear doctrine in recent days to prepare for a nuclear attack. But Western officials believe the momentum of Russia’s counterattack could extend beyond the Ukrainian battlefield to other parts of the world.
The possibility of a hybrid attack could lead to an escalation in sabotage and assassination operations in Europe, as well as further attacks by U.S. adversaries in the Middle East and the Indo-Pacific region, according to people briefed on discussions about a potential Russian response. It is said that this could include a wide range of options, including armaments.
European ministers met in Brussels on Tuesday to discuss Russia’s asymmetric warfare, with the foreign ministers of France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain and the UK issuing a joint statement accusing Russia of “systematically attacking Europe’s security architecture.” “It’s happening,” he accused.
U.S. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in Washington: “In general, we are very concerned about the hybrid warfare that Russia is waging in Europe and around the world, and on that we have been working closely with our European allies and other allies,” and partners around the world. ” Miller noted recent sabotage of two undersea optical communications cables in the Baltic Sea, adding that Russia would be “held accountable” for further such actions.
Russia may choose to cut aid to Ukraine and delay further escalation ahead of the inauguration of President Donald Trump, who has signaled he will cut aid to Ukraine and broker a peace deal that is strongly expected to favor Russia. be.
The first Ukrainian attack by Atakum hit an ammunition depot in the Bryansk region, The New York Times reported, citing U.S. and Ukrainian officials. The area is located northwest of the Kursk region, which has been under invasion by Ukrainian forces since early August.
Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelenskiy did not directly acknowledge the Bryansk attack, but said: “We now have Ukraine’s long-range capability, Atakum, and we will utilize it.”
The Russian Ministry of Defense announced that five missiles were shot down and another was damaged. The ministry added that rocket fragments caused a fire at an unnamed military facility. A U.S. official told The Associated Press that only two missiles were intercepted.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has promised an “appropriate” response to the first use of a U.S.-made missile, a move that President Vladimir Putin previously made when the U.S. and its NATO allies agreed to deal with Russia. He said it was tantamount to entering into a direct conflict.
The report was released hours after President Vladimir Putin signed revised nuclear principles that lower standards for the use of nuclear weapons. A spokesperson for the U.S. National Security Council downplayed the decision, saying the amendment had been planned for weeks and said, “Observing no change in Russia’s nuclear posture, we see no change in Russia’s nuclear posture or nuclear doctrine.” “I see no reason to adjust our own nuclear posture or doctrine in response.” Today’s statement.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the new principles would not deter him from supporting Ukraine. “There are irresponsible statements from Russia, but that does not prevent us from supporting Ukraine,” he told reporters at the G20 summit in Brazil.
Behind the scenes, U.S. and European officials have also discussed the possibility that Russia could step up its attack campaign against U.S. and European infrastructure, which has escalated significantly since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
In a joint statement, UK and EU ministers said Russia’s hybrid attacks were “escalating” and “unprecedented in their type and scale, creating significant security risks.”
“NATO and the EU must do more to protect this critical infrastructure,” Finnish Defense Minister Antti Hakkenen told Politico. “We know that Russia has the ability and desire to carry out subversive activities in Europe.”
Earlier this month, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said Russia was carrying out “intensified hybrid offensive operations” which showed that “Ukraine is no longer the only front line in this war.” Fronts are increasingly moving across borders, into the Baltic Sea region, Western Europe, and even into the northern highlands. ”
Intelligence agencies are currently investigating the latest damage to cables in the Baltic Sea, which were cut in quick succession earlier this week.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said on Tuesday that the damage was presumed to be the result of sabotage. “No one believes that the cable was accidentally damaged, and no one wants to believe that the ship’s anchor accidentally caused the damage,” he said.
If that conclusion were confirmed, it would have been prepared before the United States authorized the use of Atakumus missiles within Russia’s borders.
People briefed on the discussions said Europe could see an increase in state-sponsored attacks, including sabotage, arson, assassination attempts and attacks on military bases and transport and communications infrastructure.
A former senior European defense official said the EU was “totally unprepared” to counter Russia’s escalating hybrid warfare.
The former official, who recently left his post, said Europe lacked the resources needed to counter Russian sabotage and attacked following Biden’s decision to provide Ukraine with long-range missiles. He said he thought the situation would intensify.
A senior European security official described the recent wave of attacks as “close to terrorism aimed at intimidating the population, influencing decision-making and influencing support for Ukraine.”
Earlier this year, U.S. and German intelligence agencies reportedly thwarted a Russian plot to assassinate a number of defense industry executives across Europe, including a plot to kill Rheinmetall CEO Armin Pappelger.
Russia could also increase support for Iran and Iran’s proxy allies in the region, including Yemen’s Houthis and Lebanon’s Hezbollah.
The United States, which provides weapons and targeting information to Ukraine, said the decision to authorize the Atakumus strike was focused on accommodating the deployment of more than 10,000 North Korean soldiers into combat and their capabilities. suggested that it would be targeted.
In October, U.S. Special Envoy to the United Nations Robert Wood bluntly warned that North Korean troops who entered Ukraine “will definitely come back in body bags.”
Neither the United States nor Ukraine confirmed the use of the missile, but Ukraine’s General Staff confirmed in a statement on Tuesday that it had struck military equipment at the 1046th Logistics Center on the outskirts of the city of Karachev.
“The destruction of ammunition depots by the Russian occupation forces will continue in order to prevent the Russian Federation’s armed aggression against Ukraine,” the newspaper said.
Russian independent media reported that residents of Karachev heard explosions overnight. Several videos purporting to be from the Karachev area were circulating online, showing the sounds of explosions and visible flashes of light.
“This is, of course, a sign that they want to escalate,” Lavrov told reporters in remarks at the G20 summit, adding that Russia would be seen as “a new stage of the war by the West.”
Britain also plans to supply its own Stormshadow missiles, subject to US approval, for Ukraine to use against targets inside Russia.
Although the Russian government has vowed retaliation, some analysts suggest the country has limited options on the battlefield and is unlikely to resort to nuclear options.
“The most predictable and obvious thing will be an increase in strikes against Ukrainian cities and civilian infrastructure facilities in preparation for the winter cold,” political analyst Anton Barbashin said.
He added that the use of long-range weapons supplied by Western countries was unlikely to be a red line for Moscow.
“A long-range Atakumus missile attack on Russian territory…is likely to be on the list of red lines to cross, not a red line to cross,” Barbashin said.
