NATO's top commander in Europe: Russia's sabotage campaign is not working

NATO's Supreme Allied Commander Europe, US Air Force Lt. Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, told the European Parliament's Security and Defence Committee on Monday, September 28, that Russia's sabotage campaign against EU countries has not achieved its goal of pushing them to abandon support for Ukraine. At the same time, he said, such acts are becoming increasingly brazen.

As examples, he cited an explosive-laden drone discovered at Leipzig Airport in early August and a mid-September incident in which a Russian frigate fired signal flares at a Danish helicopter.

"It's not working"

Grynkewich said these were clear attempts to instill fear and undermine unified support for Ukraine, but stressed the tactic is failing — noting that Denmark responded to the helicopter incident by allocating additional aid to Kyiv. He added that when a country suffers a hybrid attack, a strengthened resolve to keep supporting Ukraine shows Russia its strategy is not working and could push it to abandon that approach.

He described the best possible response to sabotage and other destabilizing actions as directly attributing them to Moscow and increasing support for Kyiv. Publicly disclosing such information, he said, signals to the states sponsoring these operations that their actions are known, raising the cost of carrying them out. He added that after such direct accusations, sponsor states come to realize their covert networks are ineffective and that they need to change their behavior, which itself has a certain deterrent effect.

Operation Eastern Sentry

Grynkewich also noted that Operation Eastern Sentry, running since September 2025 with participation from Denmark, France, the United Kingdom and Germany, has already had a positive effect on security along the alliance's eastern borders. Since the operation began, he said, Russia has become significantly more cautious about sending drones across the borders of the Baltic states and Poland.