NATO is considering a more assertive stance against Russia's hybrid operations, including cyberattacks, sabotage, and airspace violations, according to Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone, the alliance's top military official and chair of NATO's Military Committee. Speaking to the Financial Times, Dragone explained that the alliance is re-evaluating its approach to hybrid threats, which have intensified across Europe in recent years.

"We are studying everything. On cyber, we are kind of reactive. Being more aggressive or proactive instead of reactive is something we are thinking about," Dragone said. He suggested that in some cases a pre-emptive strike could be treated as a form of defensive action, though he noted that this approach diverges from NATO's traditional methods and mindset.

Eastern European NATO members have pushed for a tougher posture as hybrid incidents, including cyberattacks, suspected Russian-linked sabotage, and repeated damage to underwater infrastructure in the Baltic Sea, have become more frequent. Dragone stressed that any shift would require careful consideration of legal and jurisdictional boundaries. "Being more aggressive compared with the aggressivity of our counterpart could be an option. The issues are legal framework, jurisdictional framework, who is going to do this?" he said.

He highlighted NATO's Baltic Sentry operation as an example of effective deterrence. The mission deploys allied ships, aircraft, and naval drones to safeguard critical infrastructure in the Baltic Sea, following multiple underwater cable-cutting incidents in 2023 and 2024. "From the beginning of Baltic Sentry, nothing has happened. So this means that this deterrence is working," Dragone noted.

However, challenges remain. A Finnish court recently dismissed a case against the Russian-linked vessel Eagle S, which was suspected of damaging underwater electricity and data cables, because the incident occurred in international waters. Finland's Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen told the FT that this effectively allows Russian vessels free rein in these areas. She added that while NATO is reviewing more assertive measures, allies should avoid overreacting and trust existing response frameworks.

Dragone concluded that NATO's central challenge is preventing future hybrid attacks. "How deterrence is achieved, through retaliation, through pre-emptive strike, this is something we have to analyse deeply because there could be in the future even more pressure on this," he said. The alliance continues to weigh options that balance deterrence with legal and operational limits.