Czech lawmaker Marek Zenisek says Europe's fragmented handling of suspected hybrid attacks benefits Russia and urged governments to agree on possible shared responses before another incident.
In an Oct. 28 opinion article for the Kyiv Independent, Zenisek argued that governments should assess incidents across borders and settle beforehand what consequences may follow. He said handling each case alone drains resources and leaves officials uncertain about what comes next.
“Resilience and deterrence are not the same thing,” Zenisek wrote. He argued that European governments need not announce a fixed response for every possible attack, but should make clear that an attack would carry consequences.
Germany has announced its own measures after a separate incident. The German government said it held Russia responsible for an attempted drone attack at Leipzig/Halle Airport on Aug. 4, 2026, describing the attribution as a political assessment based on police investigations, patterns and intelligence.
The announced measures included plans to close Russia’s Bonn consulate, a proposal to seek European Union (EU) listings for Russian individuals linked to hybrid attacks, tighter entry checks for Russian citizens and increased pressure on Russia’s shadow fleet. The government said criminal investigations and legal proceedings remained open.
The 2024 parcel-fire investigation offers a cross-border example. Lithuania’s Prosecutor General’s Office said four parcels containing improvised explosive-incendiary devices were sent from Vilnius on July 19, 2024, using DHL and DPD. One ignited at Leipzig Airport on July 20, another in a DPD truck in Poland on July 21 and a third at a DHL warehouse in Birmingham on July 22. The fourth did not ignite.
The European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation (Eurojust) said on March 6, 2026, that investigators had identified 22 suspects in Lithuania and Poland who were suspected of acting on behalf of Russia’s military-intelligence service. Eurojust said two cases had been sent to courts in those countries. The allegations are not final court findings.
