Russia is escalating provocations against NATO's eastern flank

The intensification of Russian espionage activities, threats of provocations and sabotage are pushing European countries to close their borders with Russia and Belarus. For instance, Latvia stopped issuing humanitarian visas to Russians a month ago, and Lithuania decided in early August to close all border crossings with Belarus to enhance security.

Provocations by Putin and Lukashenko are aimed at destabilizing civil societies in NATO countries, inciting unrest, chaos, and simultaneously showcasing the weakness of the Alliance's eastern flank. This could involve terrorist acts on Polish or Lithuanian soil with the goal of disrupting infrastructure used to transport military aid to Ukraine.

The main risk for Poland and the Baltic countries from Russia and Belarus lies in hybrid actions, embodying subversive activities. For example, the illegal crossing of migrants through the Belarusian border, as seen in 2021, disinformation campaigns, cyberattacks, violations of airspace by Russian (including Belarusian) drones, aircraft, and helicopters, infiltration of Wagner Group fighters, and more.

Furthermore, an extended Russian agent network continues to operate within NATO countries, gathering intelligence on military targets and preparing railway sabotage. In Poland, just a few days ago, a Russian spy was arrested, revealed to be a trained agent of intelligence services, gathering information on ports and military targets and preparing sabotage activities to destabilize the political situation. The Polish Internal Security Agency reported that the detained individual, Michail A., is a Belarusian citizen who resided in Russia since 2008. He spent 6 years in prison there and moved to Poland after his release. For the past two years, Michail has consciously worked for the Kremlin. He has become the 16th member of the Russian espionage network exposed by Polish security services since the start of Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine.

Consequently, Russia is employing various means to destabilize NATO's eastern flank. Therefore, Alliance member states must adopt stringent measures towards Moscow, including even the complete closure of borders with Russia and enhancing the Ukrainian army by providing long-range weaponry and modern aircraft.

Source: toptribune.today