As China and Russia try to weaken NATO nations through cyberattacks, the alliance is responding with plans for better coordination – including for counterattack.

France has announced plans to prepare 7,000 troops for potential deployment to Ukraine in 2026, signaling a major shift in NATO’s posture toward the conflict. French Army Chief Pierre Schill said the rapid response force could mobilize within 12 hours to 5 days,

A book by German political analyst Carlo Masala, "If Russia Wins," outlines how Moscow might make a grab for Estonia in 2028.

Russia appears to have been deterred by NATO's firm response last month to incursions into Polish and Estonian airspace, but Moscow is expected to continue testing boundaries, the U.S. general serving as NATO's top commander said on Tuesday.

Nato is discussing new rules that could make it easier to shoot down Russian fighter jets. The talks are focused on drawing up a single set of guidelines for engaging enemy aircraft. Defence chiefs want Russian jets carrying ground-attack missiles over allied airspace to be possible targets.

A large-scale attack against one or more of the Baltic states or Poland raises the chance that NATO will invoke Article 5 to extremely high, a risk Russia would not be likely to take, Masala said.

Analysts tell Al Jazeera that Europe lacks an assertive response to Russia’s suspected operations. Europe is unprepared to counteract a new chapter of Russian military and intelligence activities in the Baltic and North Seas, experts have told Al Jazeera.

Beyond the fire and fury of the battlefields of Ukraine, gray zone warfare has turned the Baltic’s cold depths into an embattled sea. Since 2022, six suspected sabotages and 11 confirmed damages to subsea cables have been registered in 15 months.

Spanish NATO jets were scrambled after two Russian aircraft reportedly violated Lithuanian airspace, escalating tensions amid the ongoing war in Ukraine.

Russia may be using the wreck of a Baltic Sea ferry that sank in 1994 for espionage and military exercises, a new report says.