Sidharth Kaushal

“Convincing the European political leadership that the costs of a war can come home to them.”

Sidharth Kaushal · said date not stated · reported 2026-11-09

Kaushal told CNBC the attacks could be aimed at convincing European political leadership that war costs can reach them.

“If this was an event in isolation, one might say 'okay, we should view it on its own merits,' but when you view it in the backdrop of all of that, it becomes less clear,”

Sidharth Kaushal · said date not stated · reported 2026-11-09

Kaushal said the incidents should be viewed in the broader context of suspected sabotage and hybrid threats across Europe.

“As one goes further west in Europe, the level of preparation, both against hybrid attacks, but also just simple missile attacks of the kind that we've seen in Ukraine, is far less great,”

Sidharth Kaushal · said date not stated · reported 2026-11-09

Kaushal noted that Western Europe's level of preparation against hybrid and missile attacks is far less than elsewhere.

“I think it's more about cost imposition,”

Sidharth Kaushal · said date not stated · reported 2026-11-09

Sidharth Kaushal suggested that if Russia were behind the attacks, they could be intended to impose costs on Europe for its support of Ukraine.

“Every attack generates a bit of resilience,”

Sidharth Kaushal · said date not stated · reported 2026-11-09

Kaushal cited NATO's increased focus on threats to underwater cables and pipelines after the 2022 Nord Stream sabotage.