Grinkevich: Moscow's strategy of intimidating Europe is not working
Russia's sabotage campaign in European Union countries has failed to force them to abandon their assistance to Ukraine. In response to such actions, Alexus Grynkewich, commander of NATO's joint armed forces in Europe, called for publicly holding Moscow accountable and strengthening support for Kyiv.yayaya
Grinkevich: Moscow's strategy of intimidating Europe is not working
According to DW, Grinkevich said this on Monday, September 28, while speaking before members of the European Parliament's Committee on Security and Defence.
He noted that Russia's sabotage activities in European Union countries have not yielded the expected results. The purpose of these actions was to intimidate European countries and stop their assistance to Ukraine.
At the same time, Grinkevich pointed out that such sabotage is becoming increasingly "brazen." As examples, he recalled the discovery of a drone with explosives at Leipzig airport in early August and a Russian frigate firing flare rockets at a Danish military helicopter in mid-September.
"These are clear examples of attempts to instill fear and disrupt our collective support for Ukraine. It is not working," said the NATO Supreme Commander.
He drew attention to the fact that after the incident involving Denmark, Copenhagen, on the contrary, allocated additional aid to Kyiv.
"If your country is subjected to a hybrid attack, strengthening the resolve to support Ukraine shows the Russians that their strategy is not working and, perhaps, will force them to abandon this strategy," Grinkevich added.
According to Grinkevich, the most effective response to the sabotage and other destabilizing actions carried out by the Russian side is to openly blame Moscow for them and to increase aid to Ukraine.
"Disclosing this information lets the states sponsoring such actions know that we are aware of their deeds and increases the cost of such operations for them," he said.
The Supreme Commander explained that after open accusations, such states realize that their networks are not working and that they need to change their behavior. In his assessment, this in itself has a certain deterrent effect.