Hybrid attacks are weapons of war. Europe must act like it
The Belarusian regime has been deliberately sending migrants towards the EU’s borders. Europe calls it a hybrid attack. It is. But naming the tactic is no substitute for confronting it. Russia is waging war on Ukraine. Its ally, Alexander Lukashenko, is using people to undermine Europe’s security. Different methods, but part of a wider threat. Migration policy alone cannot answer it.
By 8 November, Latvian border guards had prevented 12,799 attempts to cross illegally from Belarus this year. The pressure began in 2021. Poland and Lithuania have faced the same tactics; Finland has faced similar pressure from Russia.
But numbers tell only part of the story. Picture a family with a child at Latvia’s border, in bitter cold. If the child is at risk of freezing to death, we save them. But do we admit the two adults who say they are the parents? How do we verify their identities? And what if ten, or a hundred, such families arrive the following week?
This is the dilemma Lukashenko exploits. He is weaponising not just migrants but Europe’s duty to protect human life. Frontline states face decisions with serious consequences either way. A child does not lose the right to be rescued because a dictator exploits their suffering. But saving a life does not automatically grant the right to stay in Europe.
This is not Brussels doing Latvia, Lithuania or Poland a favour. It is Europe defending itself. That means sustained EU funding, joint border operations, fair and timely asylum decisions, lawful returns where possible, and shared responsibility for people who cannot be returned.
On 6 November, the European Commission listed Latvia among countries “at risk of migratory pressure”. Yet nearly 13,000 crossing attempts have already been stopped this year. Holding the line does not make the attack hypothetical, nor does it make the bill disappear. EU support must reflect the pressure a country withstands, not just the number of people who get through.
Even with these measures, Latvia may have to admit some of the people Lukashenko is exploiting. What Europe cannot do is leave frontline states to make those decisions and bear the costs alone.
Hybrid attacks are weapons in Russia’s wider war on Europe’s democracies. The eastern border is Europe’s. So is the responsibility to defend it.
Toms Ostrovskis TVNET GRUPA Editor-in-Chief
Link : When migration becomes a weapon: Is Europe prepared?