Recent Western government allegations and media revelations suggest Russia's risk tolerance for physical and cyber operations against Western targets is increasing, raising the likelihood of more disruptive and/or violent attacks and slowly bringing NATO and Russia closer to direct confrontation. In recent days, Western governments have leveled a series of accusations against Russia, while media outlets have disclosed other claims about aggressive Russian behavior. On Sept. 5, the United States and nine other Western countries accused Russia of being responsible for a series of disruptive cyberattacks against Ukraine in 2020 and numerous attacks, largely for the purpose of espionage, against targets across the globe since then. The 10 countries specifically blamed Unit 29155 of Russia's GRU military intelligence agency, infamous for carrying out assassinations, sabotage and other aggressive attacks throughout Europe for at least a decade. Also on Sept. 6, CNN reported -- citing two unnamed U.S. officials -- that...
