Europe Is At War

Putin sees Ukraine as part of a larger struggle with Europe. Europeans should, too.

A French Rafale fighter jet takes off during a joint mission with Polish F16s at an air base in Minsk Mazowiecki, Poland, on September 17. October 20, 2025, 8:00 AM Comment icon View Comments ( )

Russia’s intensifying incursions into European airspace are often described as acts of hybrid war . The implication is that while conventional war rages in Ukraine, with the Russian military directly targeting Ukrainian civilians, Russia’s war in Europe remains in a gray zone. It is psychological shadowboxing intended to degrade Europe’s motivation and resolve.

But this distinction is misleading. It is better to think of the war in Ukraine as a single war, with different levels of p

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