Putin wages 'shadow war' to split NATO, Europe struggles to find a way to strike back

According to The New York Times, the Kremlin is waging a "shadow war" against Europe through a series of actions that blur the boundary between war and peace. Its core strategy is the persistent infiltration of fear and uncertainty, aimed at dismantling NATO's unity and weakening its support for Ukraine.

The report points to a drone loaded with explosives discovered at Germany's Leipzig-Halle airport in August this year as the latest illustration of this strategy. Crime-scene footage shows airport personnel examining the device. The incident took place in Germany — Europe's largest economy and a key pillar of NATO — and its impact has extended far beyond the immediate security concerns.

The New York Times notes that the central question facing Europe is not whether to strike back, but how to strike back, and with what degree of force. The reason this dilemma remains unresolved is that Europe finds itself caught between two difficulties: an overly forceful response risks escalation, while continued restraint means ceding the initiative.

The report closes with the question — "How to strike back? With what degree of force?" — which is itself the answer. The drone incident at the German airport has laid bare one fact: Putin, wielding fear and ambiguity as weapons, is targeting precisely the weakness Europe is reluctant to confront — the internal divisions over supporting Ukraine that it has been unable to bridge, and the absence of a clear framework for responding to operations in the "gray zone."