Belgium Pays for Europe’s Delusions
As America retreats and Russia strikes, Belgium bleeds in silence. Europe’s illusions of security are cracking, this is no drill. The frontline has shifted. Wake up.
BRUSSELS — Over recent weeks, a complex web of diplomatic tensions, financial manoeuvring and covert cyber operations has placed Belgium at the heart of a growing standoff between Western democracies and the Russian state. From failed legal bids to release billions in blocked Russian assets to targeted cyberattacks against critical Belgian infrastructure, a mounting series of developments paints a picture of deepening geopolitical friction with Europe’s digital and economic security increasingly at risk.
On 2 March 2025, the Gunpowder Chronicles reported1 a startling policy reversal by the Trump administration in Washington: United States Cyber Command (CYBERCOM) had been ordered to halt all offensive cyber operations against Russia. The directive, issued by Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, marked a dramatic departure from long-standing U.S. national security doctrine, raising alarms within American intelligence circles and among European allies. Although the National Security Agency (NSA) continues its surveillance operations, sources cautioned that this shift could embolden Russian actors and leave NATO’s eastern flank, including cyber operations in Ukraine exposed.
“This is a major strategic retreat,” a European intelligence official told the Gunpowder Chronicles, speaking on condition of anonymity. “The U.S. has been a key partner in countering Russian cyber threats, not just in Ukraine but across NATO member states.”
Barely three weeks later, on 24 March, VRT News reported2 that a Russian hacker collective known as NoName launched Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks targeting several major Belgian websites, including MyGov.be and the platform of the Walloon Parliament. While the Belgian Centre for Cybersecurity (CCB) confirmed that the attacks caused limited disruption and were swiftly mitigated, the incident underscores a broader pattern of persistent Russian cyber activity.
According to VRT’s fact-checker Luc Van Bakel, the NoName group had previously disrupted municipal websites in Belgium during the run-up to the 9 June 2024 general elections3. The renewed aggression appeared, at least on the surface, to be retaliation for Belgium’s alleged pledge of €1 billion in aid to Ukraine, an assertion reportedly made by Belgian Defence Minister Theo Francken during a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Belgium at the Epicentre of Escalating Cyber and Financial Warfare With Russia
Sources told the Gunpowder Chronicles late Wednesday that there is a more nuanced rationale. Intelligence officials allege that NoName is, in fact, a front for Unit 29155 of Russia’s military intelligence agency, the GRU.