Emboldened by the Trump administration’s split with Europe, Russian President Vladimir Putin may be preparing to directly test the resolve of the postwar Western military alliance.
In an interview with German business daily Handelsblatt, the chairman of European aerospace and defense group Airbus warned the continent needs to arm itself now that it’s likely the United States will not honor its obligations under NATO’s Article 5 common defense clause.
“There are strong indications that Russia is preparing an attack on NATO’s eastern flank,” René Obermann told the newspaper on Monday, adding that Putin will not likely wait until Europe has enough time to build up its own sovereign capabilities for deterrence before striking.
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Obermann argues the Russian dictator has placed his country’s economy on a wartime footing with a fiscally unsustainable 10% of gross domestic product diverted to its military, according to Obermann. That’s five times the NATO minimum target, and Putin also plans to mobilize 1.5 million soldiers—the world’s second largest standing army after China.
With so much already invested, ending his expansionist campaign and returning to peace risks the one thing Putin appears to fear most—political upheaval. That may be one reason why a joint military exercise is planned for this year in Russia’s neighboring client state of Belarus.
“That is reminiscent of the events leading up to the Ukraine invasion. Furthermore, the internal pressure [in Russia] to deliver new victories through military conquest likely will grow,” he said.
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Next time just don’t reply at all if you have nothing of value to add.
Do you find it of value to spout plain bigotry? Given the history of US military action should I say it is one of the core traits of Americans to be blood-thirsty ghouls?
I’m spouting historical facts. You’re spouting whataboutism. Why is it that you people can’t stomach criticism of your holy Russian empire without deflecting to the USA?
But yes, I would in fact lay a similar criticism on the US and its forever wars. However, up to the current Trump administration, the way they treat their neighbors wasn’t comparable. But it seems quite obvious where Donny gets his ideas and so now Canada and Greenland are being threatened with annexation.
People are independent of their governments, I don’t think someone is less human because of the country they were born in.