Regional security dominates European talks in Dublin amid hybrid attacks

Leaders from more than 40 European countries have gathered in Dublin for a summit dominated by the growing number of hybrid attacks across the continent. The gathering comes after a series of hoaxes and cyberattacks that have recently targeted supermarkets, blood banks, passenger airlines, schools and media outlets in Europe. Earlier on Thursday, more than 3,700 Italian schools received hoax bomb warnings , a day after 6,300 schools were affected by a similar widespread alert .

The Republic of Ireland’s Prime Minister Micheal Martin, known as the taoiseach, said those responsible for the attacks seek to “create confusion, sow division and weaken public confidence in our democratic systems”. “We will not allow them to succeed. We will continue to use forums like this to share our experiences, learn from one another and to work together to protect our democracies,” he told reporters.

European officials have accused Russia of being behind the disruptive attacks on key infrastructure that fall below the threshold of war. Russia has denied allegations of involvement in the recent threats.