A bipartisan consensus is emerging that the United States should do more to address Russia’s continuing aggression against Ukraine. But Russian revanchism does not begin or end with Ukraine. Moscow is actively engaged in subversive activities along Europe’s eastern flank, targeting the region’s economic and political stability. As Central European capitals grow increasingly concerned, Washington urgently needs to demonstrate its robust commitment not just to the region’s security but to its democratic future.

Moscow has long demanded that Western nations not encroach on its “sphere of influence,” defined by the borders of the old Iron Curtain. It is now seeking to regain its sway over its neighbors in order to, ultimately, control all aspects of their domestic, foreign and defense policies and separate them from the rest of Europe.

This message about Moscow’s intentions was delivered at the White House recently by President of the Council of Europe Donald Tusk. Though Mr. Tusk now officially represents the European Union, he spoke about the “brutal history returned to us,” with an urgency befitting his former role as Poland’s prime minister. Mr. Tusk warned that Moscow is “trying to divide us, from inside of Europe, as well as [between] Europe and America.” Russia’s attempt to destabilize its periphery threatens to unravel the European integration project and trans-Atlantic alliance; it is not solely a Central European problem and should be vigorously opposed.

Russia’s strategy beyond Ukraine may not feature outright use of force, but that should be cause for greater alarm, not less. To exert control in its near abroad without resorting to aggression, Moscow has sought to first weaken the post-Cold War European order - political and economic stability and abiding commitment to political and civic freedoms. Those countries that undertook significant and often painful reforms to establish new, free institutions following the fall of the Berlin Wall - Poland and the Baltic states, for example - have been better off and more deeply anchored in Western international political and security institutions. Now, Russia has launched a campaign of propaganda and subversion directed at the Central European nations that remained beyond its grasp for the last quarter-century. Its primary tactic is to exacerbate and exploit Europe’s internal tensions.

Unfortunately, it has already achieved some successes. Hungary’s prime minister, Viktor Orban, has embraced the “wind from the East.”