BRUSSELS, Oct 5 (Reuters) – Russia is putting lives at risk across Europe with hybrid attacks, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on Monday, at a news briefing alongside Moldovan Prime Minister Vasile Tofan.
“Europe has seen a spike in the Russian hybrid attacks and sabotage attempts and airspace violations in recent weeks. Russian missiles and drones violated Moldovan airspace again over the weekend. And this is completely unacceptable,” she told reporters in Brussels.
On September 30, Russia unleashed a widely anticipated air campaign against Ukraine’s energy grid, hitting power facilities and infrastructure around Kyiv and other regions in the heaviest combined attack on energy sites in months.
In Moldova, on Ukraine’s western border, the defence ministry said three drones had crossed into its airspace over the course of that day.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz also warned last week that Germany faced more hybrid attacks from Russia, as he pledged to continue support for Ukraine ahead of what is likely to be its harshest winter since the start of Russia’s invasion in 2022.
German authorities have warned repeatedly that Russia is conducting a hybrid campaign of drone and cyber attacks, accusing Moscow of being behind an attempted drone attack at Leipzig airport in August.
Moscow has rejected the accusations from Western governments and intelligence services.
(Reporting by Inti Landauro and Andrew Gray;Editing by Bart Meijer/Sudip Kar-Gupta)
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