Moscow has warned the North Atlantic Treaty Organization that any preemptive military action that targets Russian territory would have repercussions.

On Monday, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova reacted to the comments by Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone, chairman of NATO’s military committee.

Dragone told the Financial Times that member states are considering being “proactive instead of reactive,” including the possibility of “preemptive” cyber operations.

According to Dragone, any decision by the alliance to be “more aggressive” in confronting Moscow’s hybrid threat campaign would fall under defensive doctrine.

“Being more aggressive compared with the aggressivity of our counterpart could be an option,” the top military commander stated.

Citing the operation launched after the violation of Polish airspace by Russian drones, he said, “From the beginning of Baltic Sentry, nothing has happened. This means that this deterrence is working.”

In its response, the Russian government slammed NATO for a “deliberate attempt” to undermine ongoing efforts aimed at resolving the Ukrainian crisis.

Zakharova called Dragone’s remarks about likely preemptive strikes “an extremely irresponsible step, demonstrating the alliance’s willingness to further escalate the situation”.

The diplomat said that those who make certain oratory must understand “the risks and potential consequences” that would arise, including for the bloc’s member states.

Zakharova accused NATO of spreading anti-Russia hysteria and fear-mongering about an “imminent attack” without presenting “a single piece of evidence of our involvement”.

“Brussels likes to repeat the mantra of the alliance’s “purely defensive” nature,” she said. “Mr Cavo Dragone’s own words about the admissibility of preemptive strikes effectively unravel this myth.”

Speaking to journalists after his state visit to Kyrgyzstan, President Vladimir Putin outrightly dismissed the circulating speculation that Russia plans to attack Europe.

“To us, that sounds ridiculous. We never had any such intentions,” the President averred. “But if they want to have it formalised, let’s do it, no problem.”