Russia’s war against Ukraine continues to shake the European security order. Alongside the visible military violence, a second level of conflict is unfolding: in the grey zone between war and peace, Russia employs hybrid means such as cyberattacks, and disinformation against European states.
Against this backdrop, the Point Alpha Stiftung together with the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung hosted a discussion event on 26 February titled “Russia’s War Against Europe: From Land to Cyber Warfare.” More than 100 guests from different age groups attended the event at the memorial site to discuss current security policy challenges.
The two speakers examined the challenges of the grey zone between war and peace from different perspectives. Johannes Steger, a crisis management expert and author of “Deutschland im Ernstfall”, used a fictional scenario to illustrate how Russia can generate disruptive effects within Germany. In contrast, Lieutenant Colonel Thilo Geiger (IFSH) focused on the military rationale and highlighted the cognitive dimension of hybrid attacks.
The subsequent discussion centered on the resilience of democratic societies and the respective roles of the state and civil society in responding to hybrid threats. Contributions from the audience were both numerous and highly focused, reflecting strong interest in today’s security challenges.
