While most of the focus of H.R. McMaster’s comments on ABC’s “This Week” focused on escalation in North Korea and Syria, he also found time to play up rising tensions with Russia, declaring it to be time for the US to “have tough discussions” with Russia.

While McMaster made this at least somewhat related to Syria, complaining that it’s unacceptable for Russia to support “that kind of horrible regime” and to participate in “that kind of conflict,” he also made Russia’s “subversive actions in Europe” a major issue as well.

Exactly what those subversive actions are was never clarified, though the US has joined Western European nations in accusing Russia of interfering in several European elections that haven’t taken place yet, claims based entirely on the fact that parties that aren’t convenient to the current leadership of Western Europe’s major powers are polling well.

This has generally meant improved fortunes for Euroskeptic parties in the wake of the Brexit, and while this is explained by growing disagreements over EU policy in several nations, the current leadership can’t fathom that such skepticism could be sincere, and has blamed Russia for it.