Russia expands hybrid warfare through North Africa
Sweden’s Chief of Defence, Lieutenant General Mikael Klasson, warned that Russia is broadening its hybrid warfare campaign against the West by taking control of illegal migration and narcotics routes into Europe through North Africa. In an interview with The Financial Times, he stressed that Moscow’s actions now extend far beyond drone incursions, cyberattacks and sabotage, with the Kremlin leveraging criminal networks as part of a wider destabilisation strategy. His remarks, published in the context of growing NATO concern, highlight what he described as a rapidly expanding threat that reaches “across Europe and NATO territory,” embedded in the newspaper’s coverage of hybrid Russian activity.
Klasson urged NATO leadership to place the Kremlin’s activities in North Africa under closer scrutiny, citing the speed at which drug trafficking, irregular migration and other criminal operations are spreading. According to him, these channels have become tools aimed at destabilising European societies, overwhelming national services and distracting governments from supporting Ukraine.
Migration routes intensify amid geopolitical pressure
Data from Frontex shows a sharp rise in irregular migration into Europe via central and western Mediterranean routes. In 2025, the number of migrants arriving through these corridors increased by 50% year-on-year, while entries via Libya surged by 50% over the first nine months. Most migrants on this route originate from Bangladesh, Eritrea and Egypt, underlining the central Mediterranean’s role as the busiest entry path, accounting for nearly 40% of all illegal crossings.
The western Mediterranean has seen similar pressures. Algeria became the dominant departure point in 2025, with its nationals representing nearly three-quarters of detected crossings on that route. Frontex reported a 28% rise in irregular border entries there over the first three quarters, adding further strain to EU border systems already stretched by regional instability.
Narcotics flows heighten security concerns
Alongside migration routes, narcotics trafficking has become a key vector of hybrid pressure. Most cocaine entering Europe transits the Gulf of Guinea, now a major operational zone for counter-smuggling missions. In recent months, several large-scale seizures have underscored the depth of the problem. The French Navy reported in September that 54 tonnes of drugs had been intercepted since the start of the year, pointing to the scale of the networks operating across West Africa.
Klasson stressed that drug trafficking serves a dual purpose in Russia’s strategy: eroding societal security while cultivating criminal ecosystems that can support political or intelligence objectives. By exploiting vulnerabilities in African transit hubs, Moscow aims to increase Europe’s exposure to internal crises linked to organised crime.
Hybrid operations seek to fracture European cohesion
Klasson said Russia is combining sabotage, covert operations and targeted attacks on individuals with strikes on critical infrastructure and information manipulation. The goal, he argued, is to fragment European unity, heighten political polarisation and weaken the continent’s ability to back Ukraine militarily and financially. These tactics mirror past attempts by Moscow to use migration flows — including from the Middle East — to provoke humanitarian strain and political upheaval within EU member states.
The Swedish general warned that Europe’s internal divisions remain a strategic vulnerability. Hybrid pressure, including disinformation campaigns, criminal flows and irregular migration, can intensify political disputes and erode collective resolve. For the Kremlin, he said, amplifying polarisation is a means to undermine the West’s capacity for coordinated action.
Call for a coordinated Western response
Klasson argued that Western nations must respond with a systemic and multi-layered strategy. This includes tightening controls over migration routes and narcotics flows, expanding cooperation with North and West African states and improving intelligence-sharing across NATO and the EU. He said European societies also need stronger information resilience to prevent political polarisation from becoming a structural weakness that Moscow can exploit.
According to Klasson, Europe faces a threat that spans the physical and digital domains, with hybrid operations leaving no clear boundaries between criminality, geopolitics and security. Confronting this challenge, he concluded, requires long-term coordination to prevent humanitarian crises from being weaponised and to protect Europe’s cohesion at a moment of heightened geopolitical tension.
