The ‘hybrid war’ Europe faces is a gift for Putin. But there are risks too

Without firing a shot, Russian President Vladimir Putin has over the past week managed to bring the war in Ukraine to millions of Europeans largely untouched by the conflict.

And it started not with a bang but a whimper.

As Danish prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, told anxious Danes Thursday night, after drones triggered major disruption at several airports, Europe should see “more violent and frequent hybrid attacks as a new reality.” But she did not cite Russia as the direct culprit – as perhaps the evidence is lacking so far, or attributing blame feeds too keenly Moscow’s aims – but instead as Europe’s main threat.

The lack of clarity is one symptom of these attacks. The anonymous culprit can’t - for a while - be named or stopped, regardless of the damage, or mild inconvenien