The Kremlin has been accused of waging a covert campaign against countries supportive of Kyiv, fuelling escalation fears.
US secretary of state Marco Rubio has raised concerns the Ukraine war could spread, amid warnings in the UK and Europe over the threat posed by an increasingly hostile Russia.
Speaking at the United Nations in New York, America’s top diplomat said the situation was closely watched and issues flagged “with the right people at the right levels”.
The Kremlin has been accused of waging a campaign of sabotage, drone incursions and disruption against European allies of Ukraine with the aim of undermining support for Kyiv and causing wider instability and unrest.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham told the United Nations this week he had ordered security chiefs to set up a new unit to tackle “industrial-scale” Russian disinformation.
The head of Royal Navy, General Sir Gwyn Jenkins, also recently warned that Moscow posed “the greatest threat to our security today” and was constantly “probing” the UK for weakness, particularly its vital undersea cables.
Earlier this month, the UK Government hauled in a senior Russian diplomat to protest at an attempted drone strike on a German airport, from where supplies were sent to Ukraine.
Britain is not alone in sounding the alarm.
Last week, French President Emmanuel Macron warned Russia was intensifying its campaign of so-called hybrid warfare against Europe and asked for plans to be drawn up to safeguard critical infrastructure, including sensitive defence industry sites, against drone attacks and cyber attacks.
While a direct attack by Russia on Nato is not expected, there are worries covert operations and airspace infractions could inadvertently trigger a conflict.
Asked about the increasing number of hybrid attacks, Mr Rubio said: “One of the concerns we have, among many, about the war between Russia and Ukraine is that could metastasise and spread into other places, that it could grow into somewhere else, be it through a hybrid attack, be it through a sabotage attack, be it through a misunderstanding – some pilot went the wrong way and all of a sudden you’ve got active combat.
“These things are of concern. We raise that in multiple meetings with multiple countries because it’s of real concern.”
Mr Rubio, who held talks with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, said: “These are how things sometimes get out of control.”
He added: “We watch reports carefully and we raise them with the right people at the right levels.”
Mr Rubio also told reporters that both Russia and Ukraine had expressed interest in a limited ceasefire that would halt attacks on grain shipments and each country’s energy sectors.
He said: “If we can play a constructive role in making that happen, we would be very open to, again, recognising it doesn’t end the war, but it does deal with something, and maybe it can serve as the baseline or a platform for a broader agreement.”
