NATO chief says alliance 'ready' for Russia hybrid attacks

NATO is "ready" for Russian cyber attacks and other forms of hybrid warfare, the alliance's secretary general said on Thursday, urging increased support for Ukraine in response to Moscow's actions.

"Russia is doing more and more when it comes to the cyber etc. domain, but... NATO is ready for this," Mark Rutte said at an event commemorating the September 11, 2001 attacks.

"We have all these response options in place... when it comes to hybrids to make sure that we stay strong," the NATO chief said, urging countries to provide "more support for Ukraine" if they "really want to give a signal to the Russians on every hybrid incident, hybrid attack."

European countries have been on high alert for any Russian interference, fearing that Moscow could target Kyiv's Western backers as the Kremlin's invasion of Ukraine drags on into its fifth year.

Rutte's remarks came after the Danish Defense Intelligence Service said Thursday that Russia would likely carry out more hybrid attacks against targets in the West, while assessing that an outright invasion by Moscow was "highly unlikely" but still possible.

Last week, Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk also warned of "hybrid" threats from Russia -- including drone and missile strikes -- against Ukraine's allies.

Poland -- a NATO and EU member state along the alliance's eastern flank -- has accused Russia of "sabotage" on several occasions since Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.