CIA Director John Ratcliffe’s visit to Moscow this week comes as U.S. intelligence warned that Russian President Vladimir Putin may be prepared to escalate against NATO. Washington must use this moment to send a simple message to Moscow: Russia cannot attack the West from the shadows and expect the West to stay silent.

Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 shattered the veil of the post-Cold War European security order, but Moscow’s challenge to the West extends well beyond the battlefield. The Kremlin is using hybrid warfare tools to test NATO’s cohesion, readiness, and political resolve. Cyberattacks, GPS interference, propaganda, espionage, sabotage, and military provocations allow Russia to pressure its neighbors without launching conventional attacks. By keeping its actions below the threshold of open war, Moscow makes it harder for NATO to agree on how and when to respond.