NATO’s Rutte says Russian attacks on Europe are ‘intensifying’

BERLIN — Russia is staging hybrid attacks on other countries as part of its all-out war on Ukraine, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said on a visit to the German capital Monday.
“Russia is conducting … an intensifying campaign of hybrid attacks across our allied territories, interfering directly in our democracies, sabotaging industry and committing violence,” said Rutte, speaking alongside Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
“This shows that the shift of the frontline in this war is no longer solely in Ukraine. Increasingly, the frontline is moving beyond borders to the Baltic region, to Western Europe and even to the high north,” he said.
Calling the deployment of North Korean troops by Moscow a “significant escalation,” Rutte said China and Iran are also supporting Moscow but added the NATO alliance was cooperating with states in the Asia-Pacific region, not least South Korea and Japan.
Speaking just hours before polls open in a tight presidential race in the United States, Rutte said whoever wins the election will not “repeat the mistake after the First World War of withdrawing from Europe.” He added that Ukraine was on course for NATO membership despite the absence of support from Berlin for a speedy formal invitation.
“I’m absolutely convinced that one day Ukraine will be a member of NATO,” said Rutte, adding “that bridge is now being built.”