EU chief says Russia is waging a 'gray zone campaign' and Europe must meet the challenge

BRUSSELS (AP) — Russia is waging a “targeted gray zone campaign” against Europe, including airspace violations, sabotage and cyberattacks that will only escalate if the Kremlin is not challenged, the European Union’s top official warned on Wednesday.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that in just two weeks, fighter jets breached Estonia’s airspace, while drones overflew military bases and critical infrastructure sites in Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Poland and Romania.

“Europe must respond. We must investigate every incident, and we must not shy away from attributing responsibility because every square centimeter of our territory must be protected and safe,” von der Leyen told EU lawmakers in Strasbourg, France.

“If we hesitate to act, the gray zone will only expand,” she said.

The EU’s executive branch, under von der Leyen’s guidance, is preparing a plan for Europe to be ready to confront such challenges by 2030. EU officials believe that Russia could be capable of launching an attack on another European country within three to five years.

The plan includes the development of a “drone wall” of high-tech systems linked to equipment that can detect, track and destroy drones, as well as strike their operating systems or pilots on the ground.

In two weeks, von der Leyen will submit a “road map” for bolstering Europe’s defenses by the end of the decade to the 27-nation bloc’s heads of state and governments for their approval.

Von der Leyen said that it's simply not affordable for European countries to continue to scramble the latest-generation fighter jets to counter relatively cheap drones, as happened when several of them entered Polish airspace a month ago.

“This is absolutely not sustainable. We need an anti-drone system that is affordable and fit for purpose. For swift detection, swift interception, and when needed, swift neutralization,” she said, adding that Europe has much to learn in this from Ukraine.

The commission believes that the best way to encourage European countries to invest more in defense is to ensure that it creates jobs and is good for business in Europe. It insists that at least 65% of any project funded with EU money should be based on the continent.

In recent years, the member nations have placed about two-thirds of their orders with U.S. defense companies.

“Most investment goes outside Europe. In other words these are jobs outside Europe. This is absolutely not sustainable,” von der Leyen said. “This is European money and we want to see a return on this investment in jobs here in Europe.”

At a summit in Copenhagen last week, the position of some EU leaders toward the drone incidents, acts of sabotage, cyberattacks and sanction-busting appeared to have hardened. Denmark has not directly attributed a series of drone flights over the country in recent weeks to Russia.

French President Emmanuel Macron said that Europe must take a more aggressive approach with Russia by shooting down drones that enter European airspace and boarding shadow fleet ships illicitly transporting oil to deprive Moscow of war revenue.

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen, right, gets a gift for her birthday before delivering her statement on EU response to recent Russian violations of the EU Member States' airspace and critical infrastructure, Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2025 at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, eastern France. (AP Photo/Pascal Bastien)

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen sits during statements on EU response to recent Russian violations of the EU Member States' airspace and critical infrastructure, Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2025 at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, eastern France. (AP Photo/Pascal Bastien)

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen delivers her statement on EU response to recent Russian violations of the EU Member States' airspace and critical infrastructure, Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2025 at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, eastern France. (AP Photo/Pascal Bastien)

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen delivers her statement on EU response to recent Russian violations of the EU Member States' airspace and critical infrastructure, Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2025 at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, eastern France. (AP Photo/Pascal Bastien)

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen delivers her statement on EU response to recent Russian violations of the EU Member States' airspace and critical infrastructure, Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2025 at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, eastern France. (AP Photo/Pascal Bastien)

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. forces in the Caribbean Sea have seized another sanctioned oil tanker that the Trump administration says has ties to Venezuela, part of a broader U.S. effort to take control of the South American country’s oil.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem wrote on social media that the U.S. Coast Guard had boarded the Motor Tanker Veronica early Thursday. She said the ship had previously passed through Venezuelan waters and was operating in defiance of President Donald Trump’s "established quarantine of sanctioned vessels in the Caribbean.”

U.S. Southern Command said Marines and sailors launched from the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford to take part in the operation alongside a Coast Guard tactical team, which Noem said conducted the boarding as in previous raids. The military said the ship was seized “without incident.”

Noem posted a brief video that appeared to show part of the ship’s capture. The black-and-white footage showed helicopters hovering over the deck of a merchant vessel while armed troops dropped down on the deck by rope.

The Veronica is the sixth sanctioned tanker seized by U.S. forces as part of the effort by Trump’s administration to control the production, refining and global distribution of Venezuela’s oil products and the fourth since the U.S. ouster of Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro in a surprise nighttime raid almost two weeks ago.

The Veronica last transmitted its location on Jan. 3 as being at anchor off the coast of Aruba, just north of Venezuela’s main oil terminal. According to the data it transmitted at the time, it was partially filled with crude.

The ship is currently listed as flying the flag of Guyana and is considered part of the shadow fleet that moves cargoes of oil in violation of U.S. sanctions.

According to its registration data, the ship also has been known as the Galileo, owned and managed by a company in Russia. In addition, a tanker with the same registration number previously sailed under the name Pegas and was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department for moving cargoes of illicit Russian oil.

As with prior posts about such raids, Noem and the military framed the seizure as part of an effort to enforce the law. Noem argued that the multiple captures show that “there is no outrunning or escaping American justice.”

However, other officials in Trump's Republican administration have made clear that they see the actions as a way to generate cash as they seek to rebuild Venezuela’s battered oil industry and restore its economy.

Trump met with executives from oil companies last week to discuss his goal of investing $100 billion in Venezuela to repair and upgrade its oil production and distribution. His administration has said it expects to sell at least 30 million to 50 million barrels of sanctioned Venezuelan oil.

This story has been corrected to show the Veronica is the fourth, not the third, tanker seized by U.S. forces since Maduro's capture.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks during a press conference, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks at a news conference at Harry Reid International Airport, Nov. 22, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ronda Churchill, File)