‘We Have The Tools’: NATO Chief Tells Europe To Stay Calm Amid Russian Drone And Cyber Threats

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said Tuesday that the military alliance possesses all the necessary response options to counter Russian sabotage, drone incursions, and cyberattacks, while calling on member states to remain calm and maintain their support for Ukraine.

Speaking to reporters during a press briefing, Rutte addressed growing concerns across Europe regarding hostile acts and gray-zone tactics reported in countries such as Germany, the United Kingdom, Denmark, and Lithuania. When asked whether the alliance should alter its characterization of these incidents, Rutte noted that while such actions can include drones, sabotage, or cyberattacks, the alliance is prepared to respond.

“We have all the response options we need,” Rutte said. “You will not always see them public. They will not always be symmetric. It will not always be tit for tat. But we have the response options we need.”

Rutte pointed to previous measures taken by the alliance to illustrate both symmetric and asymmetric counters, citing the Baltic Sentry initiative established to guard undersea infrastructure following undersea cable damage, as well as joint efforts by nations like the United Kingdom, Sweden, France, and Belgium to disrupt Russia’s maritime shadow fleet.

Russian Strategic Missile Forces chief, Col. Gen. Sergei Karakayev, left on the screen, reports to President Vladimir Putin on a successful test launch of the Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile at the Kremlin in Moscow, Tuesday, May 12, 2026. (Mikhail Metzel/Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo)

The Secretary General urged member nations not to panic over Moscow’s unconventional tactics.

“More generally speaking, I would urge for some calm, because we are investing in our defense,” Rutte said. “Russia is not in a good place. The economy is not in a good place. When you look at Ukraine, they’re losing at the moment over 40,000 a month dead or seriously wounded a month.”

Rutte added that the most effective countermeasure to Russian pressure campaigns across Europe is continued military and financial backing for Kyiv.

“Keep the support for Ukraine going, because the best response to any action in this gray zone of what Russia is doing is more support for Ukraine instead of less support for Ukraine,” Rutte said. He added that the primary aim of such Russian actions is to divide allies, distract attention, and spark internal debate over how to respond.