In coordinated preparations against NATO countries, sabotage, electronic warfare, GPS disruption, arson and violations of NATO airspace are used, writes the US-based think tank Institute for the study of war (ISW) in an analysis. The attacks are believed to have escalated in recent weeks, including in the form of drone incidents in NATO countries.
"This pattern of organized activity suggests that Russia has initiated the first phase of preparations - 'Phase 0' - to move towards a higher level of warfare than Russia is currently involved in, such as a future NATO-Russia war", writes ISW.
Analysts believe that Russia in this way wants to intimidate Europeans and also influence the Russian population's view of the Western world by portraying Western actors in a bad light.
The think tank emphasizes, however, that there are no indications that Russia is actively preparing for an armed conflict with NATO at present.
