Lithuania’s Foreign Minister, Kestutis Budrys, perceives a new quality of Russian attacks. In the past, there were hybrid attacks, with various actors behind them, controlled by the Russian government, he told the Spiegel. “Now, we are dealing with sabotage operations, with real attacks. That’s not hybrid anymore, it has a different quality.”
According to Budrys, the attacks are planned and executed by the military intelligence service. “And if the military is responsible, we must also change our approach to these attacks.” Russia has escalated its hybrid attacks, the minister said. “We must as allies respond more robustly if we want to prevent Russia from taking the next steps of escalation. There is still not a full understanding of the situation in Europe, and that’s why the right decisions are not being made.”
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) should not respond symmetrically, Budrys said, adding that the response could be to strengthen Ukraine by providing it with certain weapons systems. The crucial question is who plans and executes such attacks. “We cannot ignore it if it’s parts of the Russian military.”
Regarding the demand of the new US President, Donald Trump, for NATO member states to increase their defense spending to five percent of their economic output, Budrys said that his country does not see it as critical. Lithuania recently agreed to increase its investments in the military to five, and eventually six, percent of its economic output. “We do this to fulfill the new NATO defense plans with concrete military capabilities. It’s self-evident for us” the Lithuanian Foreign Minister said. “We must show from the outside that NATO is prepared for any aggression.