With colleagues in various countries, we are constantly discussing the possibilities of Russian escalation across the broader European front. My view has always been—and is now even more so—that the Black Sea must be regarded as a hotspot on par with—and in some respects even more so than—the Baltic. The Black Sea is already an active military zone, unlike the Baltic; there are a number of vulnerabilities among NATO countries in the region, with Bulgaria being particularly susceptible to provocations—both because of the local political landscape and due to a lack of equipment and capabilities. It is very easy for Russian forces to exert pressure in the economic zones of the countries in the region without provoking a real response, because these zones are not sovereign territories and it would be more difficult to invoke a collective response clause. At the same time, any hybrid attack would have serious security implications, as well as economic consequences for local economies, which would suffer from constant tension and the threat of drones, mines, and other threats.