Russia training in acts of sabotage In a Telegram post republished by Echo (Russia), political scientist Vladimir Pastukhov speculates on whether Europe will retaliate: “It seems to me that Russia is in an intense training phase. The incident in Leipzig reveals more about the Kremlin’s plans than dozens of theoretical models ever could. ... I assume that Putin is fundamentally more inclined towards the logic of special operations than that of military operations, and that he would prefer to launch an asymmetric move against Europe. ... I think the term ‘sabotage’ will soon be prominent in Europe’s political lexicon once more. The only question I have in this context is: will this be followed by a symmetrical response?”JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. Only suspicions at this stage We must not jump to conclusions, the Germany’s Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung warns: “The type of explosive suggests state actors, or at least state-backed actors; the proximity of a drone to Ukrainian aircraft points to Russia. But these are clues, not certainties. The state must be absolutely certain. This is a matter of far-reaching foreign policy significance. Should Nato respond? Should further sanctions be imposed on the country? These are not trivial matters.” Be better prepared for hybrid warfare The concept of defence capabilities must be understood in a broader sense, Germany’s Handelsblatt warns: “A comprehensive defense system can only function if critical infrastructure – airports, water and energy suppliers, telecommunications providers, hospitals and the food industry – is effectively protected against hybrid attacks. Perhaps Germany should follow Taiwan’s example. As part of a major military exercise, the Asian island-nation is currently upping its civil defense capacities so as to be prepared for an attack by China. Among the emergency scenarios is a mobile phone network failure. This, too, is a hybrid attack scenario that would probably cause considerable chaos here in Germany, and for which the country is inadequately prepared.”