In an interview with Kyiv Post, Gen. (Ret.) Philip Breedlove says the West must drop “deterred” posture as Lithuania battles border incursions, insisting Moscow “will never be interested in peace.” Scrap ‘Air Policing’ for Alert Status, Ex-NATO Commander Demands Amid Russia ‘Hybrid’ War
by Alex Raufoglu
Oct. 28, 2025
Kyiv Post
WASHINGTON, DC – The escalating “hybrid attacks” on NATO member Lithuania highlight a larger strategic failure in which the West remains “completely deterred” by Russia, according to retired four-star US Gen. Philip Breedlove.
Breedlove, the former Supreme Allied Commander, Europe (SACEUR), delivered the stark assessment in an interview with Kyiv Post on Monday.
He argued that the West’s current diplomatic and military approach is fundamentally flawed because Moscow has no genuine interest in peace, a conviction that forms the basis of his critique.
Russia’s perpetual war mentality
Gen. Breedlove’s most unequivocal statement was directed at the diplomatic debate surrounding Russia’s war on Ukraine.
He believes Western leaders are finally beginning to grasp a grim reality Ukraine and its allies have long championed: Moscow is not interested in peace.
“Russia has never been, and is not now, interested in peace, and will never, in the future, be interested in peace. The sooner Western leadership understands this and accepts the truth, then we can get on with taking care of Russia,” Breedlove emphasized.
Balloon crisis and Breedlove’s call for action
Breedlove’s comments arrive as Lithuania fights to secure its airspace from dozens of helium-filled balloons – believed to be smuggling contraband – that have repeatedly drifted over the border from Belarus, causing massive disruption to civil aviation.
The problem, which has forced Vilnius Airport to close multiple times over the weekend and grounded over 16,500 passengers, has prompted the Lithuanian government on Monday to denounce a “hybrid attack” and take aggressive measures.
Prime Minister Inga Ruginienė declared that the country’s army is taking “all necessary measures” to shoot down the balloons and has indefinitely closed border crossings with Belarus.
“Autocrats are once again testing the resilience of EU and NATO against hybrid threats,” Ruginienė wrote on social media, adding that, “our response will determine how far autocrats dare to go.”
The Lithuanian Foreign Ministry has “repeated a strong protest to Belarus over the constant violations of Lithuanian airspace.”
Gen. Breedlove characterized the low-tech incursions as “more of the same,” a deliberate tactic by Russia and its proxy to “find out how far they can go” and to assess the Western response. The stakes, according to Western officials, are high.
A senior Western official told Kyiv Post that the alliance must stop ignoring the threat, asking, “Are we seriously going to allow balloons from Belarus to affect airspace in a European Union and NATO nation?”
General’s strategic prescription
To counter this persistent campaign of intimidation, Breedlove laid out an urgent strategic shift that goes beyond rhetoric, focusing on military posture and resource management.
First, the general’s most forceful demand is that NATO must end its relaxed defense posture and elevate its readiness status immediately. NATO’s current “air policing” should be abandoned in favor of an “Air Defense alert” status, which would provide nations with rules of engagement that allow them to take proactive action.
Second, he urged Western forces to stop falling into the trap of using costly armaments to counter cheap threats. NATO should cease shooting at balloons with “multi-million-dollar missiles” because “trading a multi-million-dollar missile for a balloon is exactly what Russia wants us to do.”
Instead, the alliance must become more innovative in its defense. Breedlove recommended finding a different, cost-effective method to take down the balloons, such as using specialized tools mounted on existing airplanes (such as the ubiquitous Vulcan 20mm Gatling gun, internally installed in every US-built fighter, or the equivalent) or drones already in the inventory.
Finally, Breedlove underscored the need for the West to reverse the dynamic of being deterred. The West must regain the initiative by increasing the cost on Russia, because “Putin is going to push until somebody pushes back.” Until that happens, Russia will continue to use tools that are working.
United EU leaders condemn hybrid threat
Breedlove’s warning resonated with strong condemnations coming from Europe. EU leaders were quick to rally around Vilnius, unequivocally labeling the incursions as a form of non-military aggression.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stated in a social media post that Europe stands in “full solidarity with Lithuania in the face of the persistent incursions of helium smuggling balloons into its airspace.” She said the actions were “destabilization” and “provocation.”
“We call it by its name: a hybrid threat. We will not tolerate it,” she said, adding that the situation is yet another reason to accelerate their flagships – the Eastern Flank Watch and the European drone defense initiative.
European Parliament President Roberta Metsola, currently visiting Washington, similarly reaffirmed the commitment to the security of the continent’s borders.
She reaffirmed the Parliament’s “steadfast solidarity with the people of Lithuania in the wake of the hybrid threats from Belarus, and underlines our commitment to the security of Europe’s borders.”
António Costa, the president of the European Council, stressed the need for Belarus to cease the hostile acts.
He said the “hybrid activities must stop and Belarus must prevent further incidents.” He concluded that the EU will continue to put pressure on the regime for its complicity in Russia’s war against Ukraine and will support the protection of the EU’s eastern border.
Nuclear intimidation and economic squeeze
Breedlove connected Russia’s escalating provocations to the economic pressure Vladimir Putin is facing.
“Putin is in a bad place right now,” Breedlove observed, adding, “His economy is not doing good. He’s under a lot of pressure in his main sector, which is petroleum production.”
He noted that Ukraine is hitting Russian refineries hard, leading Putin to “lash out with the tools that he can.”
He argued that this economic pain is driving Putin to rely on “his war of words and his war of intimidation,” which famously includes nuclear threats.
“Putin always rolls out something nuclear when he wants to scare the West, because it works,” Breedlove concluded, adding that “the West is nearly completely deterred when it comes to Mr. Putin’s threats of nuclear weapons.”
Alex Raufoglu is Kyiv Post’s Chief Correspondent in Washington DC. He covers the US State Department, regularly traveling with US Secretary of State. Raufoglu has worked extensively in the South Caucasus and Black Sea regions for several international broadcast outlets, such as VoA, BBC, RFE/RL, etc. He holds an MA in Interactive Journalism from American University, Washington DC.