{
  "id": 8266772,
  "title": "Macron warns of growing Russian threat: How ‘hybrid attacks’ are targeting Europe",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/18/macron-warns-of-growing-russian-threat-how-hybrid-attacks-are",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-18T15:25:59.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Live Mint",
    "slug": "live-mint",
    "url": "https://www.livemint.com/news/world/macron-warns-of-growing-russian-threat-how-hybrid-attacks-are-targeting-europe-11789741049350.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "On Friday, French President Emmanuel Macron announced a plan to safeguard critical infrastructure, defense, and technology sites in France from what he termed as an escalating Russian \"hybrid threat.\" In a meeting with French political leaders, Macron highlighted the increasing nature of this threat across European nations. He emphasized that the measures would primarily focus on countering drone and cyber attacks. Macron also reaffirmed France's support for Ukraine, despite the growing Russian threats, asserting that such actions aimed to intimidate European countries and disrupt their backing for Kyiv. He warned that these actions would not go unanswered, though he did not specify the potential French response.\n\nHybrid warfare, a term used by authorities, involves a blend of military and non-military tactics, both overt and covert, to pressure or destabilize another country without resorting to conventional armed conflict. In the European context, this includes various activities such as arsons and proxy attacks, GPS jamming and electronic interference, and disruption of energy, transportation, and communication networks. These objectives can range from stealing sensitive information to causing infrastructure disruptions, creating uncertainty, and imposing financial costs on countries supporting Ukraine. Since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, European governments and security agencies have reported a rising number of incidents they attribute to or are investigating for possible links to Russian hybrid operations.\n\nThese activities encompass a broad spectrum of actions beyond conventional warfare, including cyberattacks, espionage, sabotage, arson, drone operations, GPS jamming, and disinformation campaigns. For instance, the sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea during 2022 is under investigation as a possible act of sabotage, with Western officials and sources implicating Russia. Similarly, Baltic countries have reported widespread GPS disruptions in 2024, suspecting Russian involvement. Undersea cables in the Baltic Sea were damaged in 2024, with incidents investigated as potential acts of sabotage. Additionally, European officials have repeatedly documented Russia-linked cyber operations aimed at targeting governments and critical infrastructure, including energy facilities. Arson and sabotage attempts involving defense companies and facilities supporting Ukraine have also been investigated. Sweden reported in August 2026 that it had disrupted a Russian intelligence operation aiming to influence decision-making and discredit Sweden and its allies. European authorities have also reported suspicious drone activities near military, defense, and transport facilities, including an incident in August 2026 at Germany’s Leipzig/Halle Airport. Furthermore, Poland stated in August 2026 that it had thwarted an alleged Russian-ordered plot to assassinate a U.S.-Ukrainian citizen.",
  "summary": "Hybrid warfare refers to the use of multiple methods—military and non-military, overt and covert—to pressure or destabilise another country without necessarily triggering a conventional armed conflict.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}