Russian hybrid attacks against Europe intensifying, says Macron

Russian hybrid attacks against Europe intensifying, says Macron. Image source, Getty ImagesByRobert GreenallPublished18 September 2026, 14:00 BSTUpdated 32 minutes agoFrench President Emmanuel Macron has warned that the threat of hybrid attacks by Russia against Europe and France has intensified.

What happened

He said France had been targeted by Russian hybrid attacks in the past few weeks which would not be left "without a response". "In recent weeks, the Russian hybrid threat against Europeans and against France has intensified," he said. A growing number of European leaders have warned that Russia may be preparing attacks to test their commitment to supporting Ukraine. Published19 hours agoHybrid warfare or hybrid attacks are loose terms which tend to describe non-military methods, for example cyberattacks, sabotage or misinformation, designed to exert pressure and destabilise an adversary.

Last Sunday, a Russian drone hit a passenger train near the Ukraine-Poland border shortly after former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and top European security officials had passed through along the same line. Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly said Russia does not plan to attack Europe, but Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov warned European nations against sending troops to Ukraine, which would be seen by Russia as a declaration of war. "If Europe attacks Russia, it will be a completely different war, and it will be very short," he said.

The wider picture

Figure caption, Macron also addressed the energy situation, saying that the government had been tasked with protecting critical infrastructure and the "most sensitive" defence industry and technology sites against drone and cyberattacks. Related topicsEmmanuel MacronFranceEuropeRussiaMore on this storyGerman airport drone-bomb: Could Russia be involved? The men jailed for vandalism in French hybrid warfare casePublished1 November 2025Explosions, cyber attacks. . . welcome to hybrid warfarePublished6 February 2023 The French president says he has tasked the government with protecting critical infrastructure and defence industry sites.

In a news conference at the Elysee Palace, Macron said he had ordered a plan to protect critical infrastructure and defence industry sites in the face of this threat. These are quite often employed using proxies, but Russia always denies involvement in such attacks despite growing evidence to the contrary. Macron mentioned last month's drone attack on Leipzig airport in Germany, blamed on Russia, and remarks by Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk suggesting Russia was planning drone and missile strikes against Poland and other countries on Nato's eastern flank.

"On Thursday Tusk told Polish MPs that Russian plans included strikes by drones and missiles on countries supporting Ukraine.

What has been reported

Meanwhile on Friday, Russia reiterated its warning to the UK that any British military facilities in Ukraine used to strike Russian territory were "legitimate targets". He announced that France would call a meeting of the G7 to discuss energy and raise the question of gas stocks with the European Commission. "In the coming weeks, we will have a G7 meeting devoted to these energy issues, both to strengthen cooperation and to avoid unnecessary tensions between the G7 countries and our main partners," Macron said.

The hard-right opposition National Rally candidate Marine le Pen is currently leading the polls for the April-May vote to replace Macron. The French president was speaking to journalists after meeting party leaders to discuss the security impact of the wars in the Middle East and Ukraine. "The intent is to intimidate us and break our effort to support Ukraine. We are not intimidated because we know that our security today and tomorrow is at stake in Ukraine.

He said there was a "real risk" of such strikes on the territory of Nato countries, with Moscow then claiming that they were "accidental", in an attempt to split the alliance.

What happens next

Ukraine said all the passengers had been evacuated just minutes before the strike at Yahodyn, which hit the train's engine. There have also been a number of suspicious fires at defence facilities from Italy to Estonia, with some of the affected countries blaming Russia. It reserved the right to take "necessary counter-measures" in response to the UK's "fiercely confrontational stance regarding Ukraine", referring to its supply of drones and other weapon systems to Kyiv. Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

"It will also be an opportunity to consider options for a possible release or unlocking of strategic reserves. "In a domestic context, he called on candidates in next year's elections not to exploit public unease by blaming the government, but to acknowledge that fuel price inflation was the result of uncontrollable international circumstances.