Russian Security Council chief Sergei Shoigu has dismissed accusations that Russia is waging hybrid warfare against Europe, invoking Vladimir Putin’s repeated assurances that Moscow does not intend to attack it.

Shoigu said Putin had stated “three or four times over the past two months” that Russia would not attack Europe. He contrasted those assurances with accusations which, in his account, continued regardless: “Russia is waging a hybrid war against us.”

“Listen, we have no time for you,” Shoigu said in response.

His rebuttal rested on Russia’s stated intentions and his dismissal of the accusations, rather than an examination of particular incidents. He did not identify the accusers or specify the actions at issue in these remarks.

That leaves an important distinction unresolved: an assurance about a future attack does not, by itself, settle allegations about activities said to be taking place already.