# AMB. GORDON SONDLAND: The Godfather Test — How Putin turns every attack into a mystery—and gets away with it

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/amb-gordon-sondland-the-godfather-test-how-putin-turns-every-attack-into-a-mystery-and-gets-away-with-it/
- Published: 2026-09-06T11:50:48+00:00
- Updated: 2026-09-06T12:32:37+00:00
- Original publisher: Fox News (publisher lean: Far right)
- Original article: https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/gordon-sondland-godfather-test-putin-turns-every-attack-into-mystery-gets-away-with-it
- Topics: Cybersecurity, Europe, Geopolitics, Paranormal, Politics, Technology, Weird & Viral, World

## Key points

- Ex-envoy urges NATO/EU to presume Putin guilty of hybrid attacks
- Calls for reversing burden of proof on Russian sabotage, cyberattacks
- Cites drone incursions, cut cables, and Germany's drone-airport incident

## Summary

Fox News contributor Gordon Sondland, a former US ambassador to the EU, argues that NATO and the European Union should abandon the presumption of innocence when Russia is suspected of hybrid attacks, proposing what he calls a "Godfather Test". He contends that Vladimir Putin has forfeited any benefit of the doubt through years of invasions, cyberattacks, sabotage and disinformation campaigns, and that Western reluctance to act without publicly provable evidence allows Moscow to exploit democratic norms as a strategic weakness.

Sondland cites examples such as drones crossing into Eastern European territory, severed undersea power cables in the Baltic Sea, crippled government networks, exploded weapons factories and disrupted railway systems, arguing that in each case Russia should be presumed responsible unless it can prove otherwise. He references recent incidents, including Germany blaming Russia for an explosive-laden drone found near Ukrainian cargo planes at a major airport, and intelligence warnings that Russia is preparing hybrid attacks on NATO's eastern flank, to support his call for the West to reverse the burden of proof in dealing with Kremlin-linked "grey zone" activity.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.