The EU sees no signs of preparations for an attack on European NATO members — AFP

European intelligence services see no signs that russia is planning a military attack on European countries that are members of NATO, the BBC reports, citing AFP and a senior EU official.

The statement came amid reports that CIA Director John Ratcliffe may have warned the russian authorities against such a move during his visit to moscow.

In particular, The Wall Street Journal wrote that russia could attempt to test NATO’s resolve by launching a “limited attack” within the next few years.

The EU official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, assessed the threat as follows:

“Overall, European services see no risk of a russian attack on European countries, and this assessment has not changed”.

The AFP source also noted that “moscow continues its attempts at escalation and hybrid warfare — with the bloc’s eastern countries being the most vulnerable in this regard”.

“We are observing these hybrid — and sometimes not entirely hybrid — attacks, which continue; we assume that they will continue in the future as well”, - the EU official noted.