Italy’s defence minister wants new 5,000-strong unit against hybrid warfare

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ROME (Reuters) -Italy urgently needs a new civilian and military unit employing 5,000 people to combat hybrid warfare threats, Defence Minister Guido Crosetto said in a strategic report published on Tuesday.

The recent surge in suspect incidents across Europe has put governments on high alert, raising questions about the vulnerability of the region to Russian attacks combining military and non-military action.

“It is necessary, using clear tools and in a short time frame, to develop a predictive and adaptive capacity for action aimed at preventing, deterring and absorbing hybrid attacks,” Crosetto wrote in the report.

The new unit, which would need to be operational “24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year”, could initially employ 1,200-1,500 people, to be gradually increased to 5,000, he said.

Italy faces hybrid warfare threats in critical sectors including energy infrastructure and airports, and should set up a centre to “combat disinformation and hostile actions in the field of cognitive warfare”, Crosetto added.

His paper was discussed at high-level defence talks hosted by Italian President Sergio Mattarella on Monday, including the minister as well as Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and the Chief of Defence Staff, General Luciano Portolano.

The talks “addressed the issue of hybrid threats from Russia and other hostile foreign actors as a complex challenge to the security of Europe and Italy, as well as to the integrity of democratic processes,” Mattarella’s office said.

Russia has denied responsibility for the recent incidents.

(Reporting by Angelo Amante; editing by Alvise Armellini and Mark Heinrich)