Putin Says Russia Will Favor Hybrid Tactics Over Direct NATO Conflict
President Vladimir Putin said on 28 August that Russia would rely on hybrid tactics such as cyber attacks and sabotage rather than engage in a direct military confrontation with NATO, underscoring Moscow’s strategic shift. The series of Russian warnings began on 17 August, when Moscow accused the United Kingdom of escalating the Ukraine conflict by supplying drones used in strikes on Russian soil. Subsequent statements from the foreign minister and a Kremlin adviser warned that British drone factories and military sites could become targets, and Russia also cautioned it could strike British forces if Ukraine employed British-supplied Storm Shadow missiles.
Ukraine’s use of British-made drones, including a raid of more than 600 drones on Moscow, prompted the warnings. Despite the threats, Prime Minister Andy Burnham repeatedly affirmed the United Kingdom’s full support for Kyiv, travelling to the city for its independence-day celebrations and co-chairing a meeting of the ‘Coalition of the Willing’, while European leaders pledged additional aid. NATO also stepped up drills in the Baltic Sea and bolstered defenses against potential Iranian strikes in Europe.
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