EU's Kallas urges Europe to impose 'greater cost' on Russia over hybrid attacks

The European Union's foreign policy chief said on Tuesday that Russia's alleged hybrid attacks against Europe are intended to "intimidate and paralyze" societies and decision-making mechanisms, urging countries to respond by imposing "greater costs" on Moscow.

"Moscow's hybrid attacks are designed to intimidate us, paralyze our societies, and make us hesitate to act. That is precisely what Putin wants," Kaja Kallas told a plenary session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France.

"We should not let fear dictate our choices. We should match the level of these attacks with concrete action and confident response," she added.

Kallas pointed to a series of recent incidents across Europe, including an incident allegedly involving a Russian warship and a Danish helicopter, the downing of a drone over Lithuania by NATO jets, a Russian strike on a passenger train near the Ukrainian border and Poland's recovery of a drone from its waters.

"We need to be clear-eyed. Those are not accidents. They are calculated attempts by Russia to weaken our resolve, test our unity, and play with fears of escalation," she said.

Kallas stressed that Europe should continue supporting Ukraine despite Moscow's actions.

"One thing is very clear: (Russian President Vladimir) Putin will not stop unless he is stopped. So, as Russia is willing to take greater risks, Europe must impose a greater cost," she said.

She outlined several measures that she said Europe should pursue, including publicly attributing Russian attacks, sanctioning those responsible, cutting off Russia's sources of funding, restricting the activities and movement of Russian diplomats, and strengthening protection of Europe's information space.

Kallas said the EU should consider further restrictions on Russian diplomats' movement within the Schengen area, a possible ban on visas for Russian ex-combatants and a review of tourist visa issuance to Russian citizens.

"We must reduce the pool of people conducting attacks on European soil," she said.