A year after the end of the war in Ukraine, Russia may attack a NATO country: experts say Europe is already in a state of war.

Russia is preparing for a possible military clash with NATO and could attack just a year after completing its invasion of Ukraine, writes Daily Mail.

A report by the Dutch intelligence service MIVD states that Russia remains the greatest and most immediate threat to the continent and is already preparing for a possible conflict with NATO.

It is noted that it is extremely unlikely that it will start a war while military operations in Ukraine continue.

However, according to the MIVD, the Kremlin is increasingly confident thanks to deepening ties with China, with Beijing's cyberespionage capabilities now comparable to those of the United States.

On the subject: Despite the huge losses in the war with Ukraine, Russia will not run out of soldiers anytime soon, and here's why

Vice Admiral Peter Reisink, head of the MIVD, said Chinese cyber operations are "highly developed and organised in an extremely sophisticated manner."

"We are vulnerable and not always able to identify all the threats coming from China," he noted.

According to the intelligence service, Moscow is seeking to take advantage of Chinese exports that support its defense industry, while Beijing is interested in learning from Russia's combat experience in Ukraine.

Moreover, the deterioration of relations between Western countries increases the risks for Europe, especially “in a context where rules are becoming blurred and force plays an increasingly important role.”

On April 22, the head of the National Cyber ​​Security Centre warned that the UK should prepare for an increase in cyber attacks linked to hostile states.

Richard Horne reported that the agency handles an average of four national-level cyber incidents per week, with the most serious attacks increasingly being linked not only to criminal groups but also to nation-states. The National Cyber ​​Security Centre is part of the British intelligence agency GCHQ.

Speaking at the government's annual CYBERUK conference in Glasgow, Horne stressed that criminal threats such as ransomware remain the most common risk facing organisations.

However, he said, most of the most serious incidents are now occurring "directly or indirectly" at the instigation of states, including China, Iran, and Russia. He assured that such activity is directed against the UK and its European partners.

Horne warned, among other things, that the United Kingdom is experiencing "the most significant geopolitical shift in modern history."

Last year, the counter-intelligence service MI5 reported that since 2022, authorities had foiled more than 20 plots linked to Iran. Some of these targeted people living in the UK.

"If we find ourselves in a conflict or near-conflict situation, the UK is likely to face large-scale hacking attacks," Horne suggested, adding that such campaigns could cause disruption comparable to major ransomware attacks, but without the ability to restore systems through ransom payments.

Mathieu Cousin, a cyber risk and threat analysis strategist at insurance company AXA X-El, said last month that there was likely to be an increase in cyber activity related to the US and Israeli war against Iran.

"When geopolitical tensions rise, cyber activity also increases. In this conflict, groups linked to the Iranian state are using cyber operations as another avenue of response," he said.

On April 22, Horn said that advances in artificial intelligence are expected to speed up cyberattacks, allowing for faster identification of vulnerabilities, while the technology also opens up opportunities to strengthen defenses.

At the same conference, Security Minister Dan Jarvis called on leading artificial intelligence companies to work with the government to develop AI-powered cyber defence capabilities to protect critical national infrastructure.

Jarvis also invited businesses to join a voluntary cyber resilience pledge and announced an additional $90 million in funding over three years to strengthen cyber security, including support for small and medium-sized businesses.

In September, former MI5 chief Baroness Eliza Manningham-Buller warned that the world may "already be at war with Russia."

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Moscow's widespread use of cyberattacks, intelligence activities, physical attacks and sabotage in the UK effectively amounts to a conflict, she said.

The Baroness told the House of Lords podcast, Lord Speaker's Corner, that Vladimir Putin expert Fiona Hill "may be right when she says we are already at war with Russia."

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