Russia’s hybrid attacks in focus as European leaders meet in Finnish Lapland

Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal says he expects Russia to carry out more hybrid attacks across Europe.

Michal is among a number of European leaders who have travelled to Rovaniemi at the invitation of Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo (NCP) to attend an Arctic summit.

Such ambiguous attacks, which fall short of conventional warfare but target the functioning of societies, are intended as a message to Europe, Nato countries and the states bordering the Baltic Sea, according to Michal.

Russia wants to discourage European countries from supporting Ukraine, he added, noting that the Kremlin uses a range of proxies and criminal groups to carry out these attacks.

Michal told Yle he does not, however, believe Russia is seeking to test Nato’s Article 5, which commits members to collective defence.

In recent weeks, several Western intelligence services have warned that both hybrid attacks and a limited military strike, for example against the Baltic states, are possible.

European leaders in Far North

Orpo’s invitees include German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal, Latvian Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda, Romanian President Nicușor Dan and French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot.

No Swedish leaders are attending because of the parliamentary election held on Sunday.

European Council President António Costa and EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas are also in Rovaniemi.

The Arctic summit is being organised at Finland’s initiative.

Finland once sought to foster cooperation between the European Union, Russia, Norway and Iceland. Russia has now been excluded from that cooperation and has instead become a threat, which is also being felt in the Arctic.

Putting Arctic policy higher on the agenda also means seeking more EU funding for the region. Finland believes the money could, for example, be used to build icebreakers, an area in which it is keen to expand.

———————————

This story is posted on the Barents Observer as part of Eye on the Arctic, a collaborative partnership between public and private circumpolar media organizations.