EU chief calls for tougher response to Russia’s ‘hybrid war’ campaign

It is time to tackle Russia’s “hybrid war” by openly acknowledging the threat and deterring future provocations, European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen said on Wednesday.

The president of the European Commission highlighted that in the last two weeks alone, Russian drones and warplanes have violated the airspace of six European countries, jamming jets, grounding commercial flights and posing a direct threat to EU citizens.

“One incident can be a mistake. Two incidents are a coincidence,” von der Leyen said in a speech to the European Parliament. “But three, five, 10 – this is a deliberate and targeted gray zone campaign against Europe, and Europe must respond.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (left) and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen attend a joint press conference in Brussels on August 17, 2025. (Simon Wohlfahrt/AFP/Getty Images)

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The EU chief said the aerial threats are just the latest in a series of Russian attacks, kinetic and non-kinetic, which have targeted submarine cables, airports, logistics centers and elections across the continent, using direct force as well as cyber aggression.

“These incidents are meant to continue in the twilight of denial,” von der Leyen said. “This is not random harassment. This is a consistent and growing campaign to destabilize our citizens, test our resolve, divide our union, and weaken our support for Ukraine, and it is time to call it what it is.

“This is a hybrid war and we have to take it very seriously,” she said.

Von der Leyen said much has already been implemented to better confront Russia’s growing aggression, including mobilizing almost $930 billion in defense spending through 2030 – which she said constitutes the largest “increase in defense spending in the history of the Union”.

But the EU chief said more needed to be done, including promoting to the public a “new mindset” on EU security.

Russian Sukhoi Su-30SM and MiG-29 fighter jets fly over Moscow during the dress rehearsal for the Victory Day military parade in May. 7, 2025. (Tatyana Makeyeva/AFP via Getty Images)

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“The fight against Russia’s hybrid warfare is not just about traditional defense, but also about software for drones. It’s about spare parts for pipelines. It’s about cybersecurity rapid response teams and public information campaigns to raise awareness,” she said. “We must be willing to leave our comfort zone.”

Countries like Germany are already taking new steps to counter Russia’s gray zone tactics, and on Wednesday German lawmakers paved the way for allowing local police forces to shoot down drones.

The plan, championed Wednesday by German Chancellor Frederick Merz, still needs to be approved by the national parliament, but comes less than a week after planes were grounded at Munich airport due to drone sightings nearby.

A sign marks a no-drone zone as flights resume at Munich Airport after a temporary suspension early this morning due to drone sightings October 4, 2025 in Erding, Germany. (Johannes Simon/Getty Images)

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“Drone incidents threaten our security,” Merz said in a message on X. “We will not allow this. We are strengthening the powers of the federal police so that in the future drones can be detected and combatted more quickly.”

Local reports earlier this week also indicated that laser systems had been installed to better localize unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) sightings after several drone incidents disrupted airports across Europe in recent months.