Europe Is Under Attack. Why Is It Still Responding Like It’s a Crime?
Europe has learned to investigate hybrid attacks, but it still lacks an effective system for stopping them in real time In December 2025, Poland’s energy infrastructure was targeted with destructive malware. According to Warsaw, around 500,000 people could have been left without electricity. Yet the EU and UK response came only months later, in the form of sanctions. This case highlights a…
Europe grapples with hybrid attacks that often go unaddressed by traditional responses. In December 2025, Poland faced a cyber attack that could have left 500,000 people without electricity, yet the EU and UK only responded with sanctions months later. This indicates a gap between investigating and punishing attacks and having a system to prevent them in real-time.
Russia has frequently employed hybrid tactics against Europe, including cyberattacks, sabotage, and infrastructure damage. The challenge lies in determining whether these incidents should be considered military attacks, as Article 5 is legally available but politically challenging to activate. Police and intelligence services typically respond first, able to investigate and punish perpetrators but unable to prevent attacks from disrupting critical infrastructure.
A key issue is the need for a distributed system of sensors, interceptor drones, and rapid-response teams to protect against such threats. Ukraine's approach, developed during wartime, involves a network of acoustic sensors and interceptor drones that swiftly detect and neutralize threats. This requires not only speed but also preparedness in repair teams, equipment, and procedures to restore infrastructure within hours.
Europe must shift its focus from months-long sanctions and automatic responses to building capabilities for immediate defense, prioritizing speed in threat detection, neutralization, operation maintenance, and damage restoration.
Written by urgent.news from UATV English's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
