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Macron Orders Enhanced Protection Against Russian Hybrid Threats
Confirmed
In Short: French President Emmanuel Macron warned of intensifying Russian hybrid attacks and ordered his government to prepare a plan to protect critical infrastructure.
French President Emmanuel Macron warned that Russia's hybrid attacks on Europe, particularly via drones and cyber threats, are intensifying. He told a news conference that he had ordered his government to draw up a plan to protect critical infrastructure against drone and cyber attacks.
Macron cited an attempted drone attack at Leipzig airport in August, which the German government concluded Moscow was behind, as evidence of the changing nature of Russian aggression. He said Moscow sought to intimidate Europe and break the continent's resolve in supporting Ukraine in the war with Russia.
Macron also raised concerns over gas prices and Europe’s energy situation, citing conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine. He noted that the consequences of the attacks launched by the United States and Israel against Iran have added to the situation.
Macron said a meeting of G7 nations would take place in the coming weeks to step up cooperation among members and help secure supplies in the face of the current energy crisis. He also called for increased vigilance, warning that similar operations and attacks could target cities and other sensitive areas.
France will strengthen protection for critical infrastructure and sensitive defense sites amid what President Emmanuel Macron described as an intensifying Russian hybrid threat. He said the government had been asked to prepare a plan to protect critical infrastructure and sensitive sites within France’s defense industrial and technological base from potential drone and cyberattacks.
Macron noted that Europe remains more dependent on gas than France and said preventing tensions in energy markets was a priority. He also called for the peaceful reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and said Paris was working to secure supplies of key energy products, particularly jet fuel and gas.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said Kyiv authorities don't have the resources to build shelters at every gas station and faces a shortage of weapons needed to intercept Russian drones and missiles. Klitschko noted that the issue of protection is a question of air defense.
Russian missile strikes hit two major Ukrainian metallurgical plants overnight on Sept. 12, killing two people and injuring six others, according to statements from Zaporizhstal operator Metinvest and ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih.
Ukrainian forces appear to have struck industrial sites in the Russian cities of Tolyatti and Taganrog on Sept. 12, Russian Telegram media channels reported.
Ukraine will strengthen protection for railways, fuel stations and other critical enterprises targeted by Russian strikes, President Volodymyr Zelensky said. Officials reviewed the security needs of Ukrzaliznytsia, Ukraine’s national railway operator, fuel station networks and other facilities identified as priority targets for Russian strikes.
Macron said the government had been asked to prepare a plan to protect critical infrastructure and sensitive sites within France’s defense industrial and technological base from potential drone and cyberattacks.
What this adds
Macron's warning and orders come amid a backdrop of rising fiscal pressure in France, with the 10-year bond yield spread over Germany widening to its highest since 2011.
What's confirmed
- "In recent weeks, the threat — particularly the Russian hybrid threat — facing Europeans and France has intensified," Macron said after meeting in Paris with political party leaders to discuss international developments.
What's still developing
- France's high deficit has limited the government's ability to help offset fuel costs, which Macron said were the result of a war in the Middle East that France had neither chosen nor participated in.
- “At our request, the interior minister brought together all the regional prefects yesterday to raise the level of preparedness and vigilance regarding Russian hybrid attacks,” Macron told reporters Friday after meeting with the leaders of political parties, Anadolu Agency reported.
- “We have drafted new legislation on foreign interference, as well as on cyber issues, which will continue through the legislative process as quickly as we can so that they can be fully applicable in the coming weeks,” Macron said.
- "The issue of protection is a question of air defense. Speaking with the military, I can say that, unfortunately, we have a shortage of means of destruction — those missiles that work against drones, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles. There is a problem with this," Klitschko told reporters on the sidelines of the Yalta European Strategy (YES) conference.
- "Five hundred Shahed drones per day is certainly not the right time to even begin a discussion about easing sanctions," President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sept. 12, after France reportedly joined Slovakia in calling to delist Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov.
- The Russian drone was destroyed by a Ukrainian Sargan 3000 unmanned boat, equipped with a 12.7-mm Protector remote weapons station, according to the Navy, marking a historic first battle between marine drones.
- UK intelligence said the number of Russian casualties, meaning killed, wounded, and missing, is thought to be 1.5 million since February 2022, matching Ukrainian estimates.
- Klitschko's remarks come as Moscow has stepped up its attacks on Ukraine's capital, including at least four strikes on gas stations over the past week.
- He did not disclose details of the protection plans.