As the rhetoric in Moscow and Brussels continues furthering the buildup to a direct war between Russia and the North Atlantic Alliance, a Russian ship fired warning shots at a German military helicopter over the Baltic Sea.
The incident occurred on Wednesday, with German officials telling the media that its helicopter was fired on with a signaling round by the Russian vessel while it was conducting surveillance operations attempting to locate ships that were violating Western sanctions on Moscow.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock explained, “There have been incidents with tankers operating illegally there to circumvent sanctions and incidents in which a helicopter from Germany was suddenly fired upon by one of these tankers.”
The US has led its allies in NATO and the G7 in placing a massive sanctions regime on Russia. However, Moscow has been able to successfully skirt the economic war by trading with countries outside of the Western-led economic institutions.
Baerbock added that the attack was a part of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s hybrid war on the West. “The Russian president, with the support of others, is further expanding his hybrid attacks on the European peace order,” she said.
Western officials have recently discussed escalating the confrontation with Russia over alleged “hybrid attacks,” including suggesting the mutual defense article of the NATO pact could be invoked.
Last month, the head of the German intelligence agency, Bruno Kahl, said, “The extensive use of hybrid measures by Russia increases the risk that NATO will eventually consider invoking its Article 5 mutual defense clause,” adding, “At the same time, the increasing ramp-up of the Russian military potential means a direct military confrontation with NATO becomes one possible option for the Kremlin.”
On Tuesday, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte made similar remarks during a gathering of foreign ministers. “Over the past years, Russia and China have tried to destabilize our nations with acts of sabotage, cyberattacks, disinformation and energy blackmail to intimidate us.” He continued, “NATO allies will continue to stand together to face these threats through a range of measures, including greater intelligence sharing and better protection of critical infrastructure.”
As Russia and the US maintain the world’s two largest nuclear powers, any direct war between NATO and Moscow will likely have catastrophic consequences for the planet.
