12/16/25: Subcommittee on Europe Hybrid Warfare in Europe Against U.S. Interests: Moscow and Beijing’s Playbook
Subcommittee on Europe
Hybrid Warfare in Europe Against U.S. Interests: Moscow and Beijing’s Playbook
December 16, 2025, at 10:00 a.m.
2172 Rayburn House Office Building
Opening Statement of Ranking Member Bill Keating
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Russia and China’s hybrid warfare in Europe poses one of the most significant threats to transatlantic unity and security since the fall of the Soviet Union. While Russian and PRC tactics are not new, they are enduring, and in recent months we have seen Lithuanian authorities indict 15 individuals for an alleged Russian plot to blow up mail parcels on aircraft, reportedly inbound to the U.S. and Canada, and dealt with the fallout of China’s Salt Typhoon attacks on U.S. critical infrastructure, among many other incidents. This week, the Chief of MI6 in the United Kingdom warned of Moscow’s ‘acute threat’ to the West.
As the benefits of the democratic system have become clear and the deterrence of security alliances have proven effective, Russia and China have become fast friends refining their playbooks to exploit vulnerabilities, manipulate political discourse, and chip away at our shared transatlantic values.
As both Beijing and Moscow seek to undermine European security, they take significantly different tactics to achieve their goals. Seeking respect and leadership in a multi-polar world, Beijing has sought to undermine the European Union through bilateral economic cooperation with countries like Hungary and Serbia. Through nodes of friendship in Budapest, Belgrade, and elsewhere, Beijing has bullied allies and partners for their recognition of Taiwan, eroded European resilience to cyber-attacks, and sowed doubt in our democratic institutions.
Meanwhile, the Kremlin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine has demonstrated that Moscow’s playbook includes much more than hybrid attacks. After almost 12 years of conflict, Vladimir Putin has supplemented his illegal invasion with continuous hybrid attacks against Europe and against NATO.
In the recent months, more than 20 Russian drones flew over Polish territory, blurring the line between hybrid and all out military attack, and the Kremlin has been accused of terrorism by Polish authorities for blowing up train infrastructure. At the political level, the Kremlin has sought close ties from friendly far-right political parties in Moldova and Romania as well as the AfD in Germany who, both knowingly and unknowingly, will do the Kremlin’s bidding.
Unfortunately, Beijing and Moscow’s hybrid tactics are not limited to Europe. Last week, a California court indicted Russians for targeting critical infrastructure in 5 U.S. states and, literally today, a group affiliated with the Russian Orthodox Church, long believed to be a cover for the FSB, is in Congress seeking meetings with Members and staff to spread false narratives about religious persecution. Meanwhile, PRC state-sponsored cyber-attacks like Salt Typhoon have targeted American power grids and American companies stealing sensitive files and intellectual property.
For decades, Beijing and Moscow have only ceased their hybrid tactics when the transatlantic alliance remains united in defense of our shared values. Today, that begins in Ukraine where the only way to ensure a Ukrainian future that is free from Russian hybrid attacks is with credible U.S.-backed security guarantees for Kyiv. It also means calling out Russian political interference and Beijing’s malign investment schemes in Europe and whenever they’re seen, and subsequently responding with sanctions and other punitive measures to show the Kremlin and President Xi that the United States is serious.
Unfortunately, rather than respond effectively to Russia and China’s hybrid tactics in Europe, the Trump Administration has embraced Beijing and Moscow. On December 8th, the White House approved the export of advanced Nvidia H200 chips to China on the same day the Justice Department indicted an American and two PRC natives for the alleged, illegal smuggling of those exact chips to China.
Meanwhile, the State Department’s Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy met last week with a politician from the far-right AfD who the Kremlin had once described as “a member of parliament under [our] absolute control.” This Administration’s actions have consequences and failing to not only stand up to Moscow and Beijing’s hybrid tactics, but embracing them makes America less safe, less strong, and less prosperous.
I hope this distinguished panel of witnesses here today can help shed light on the true hybrid threats posed to Europe and the United States and recommend a way forward for the Trump administration to change course. I look forward to their testimony, and I yield the balance of my time.
Opening Statement of Ms. Laura K. Cooper, Adjunct Assistant Professor at Georgetown University
RM Keating Exchange with Ms. Laura K. Cooper, Adjunct Assistant Professor at Georgetown University