Ideas range from joint offensive cyber operations against Russia, and faster and more coordinated attribution of hybrid attacks by quickly pointing the finger at Moscow, to surprise NATO-led military exercises, according to two senior European government officials and three EU diplomats
“The Russians are constantly testing the limits — what is the response, how far can we go?” Latvian Foreign Minister Baiba Braže noted in an interview. A more “proactive response is needed,” she told POLITICO. “And it’s not talking that sends a signal — it’s doing.”
Finally.
If Ukraine has demonstrated anything, it’s that Russia is not that strong.
Seriously. If all of Western Europe ganged up on Russia, it would fold instantaneously. Bullies isolate their victims. Don’t let them do that and they show their true colors.
It also still has nukes
They’re likely defunct as they require insane amounts of money for maintenance and upkeep and Russians have skimped money on all parts of the military, and where to skimp easier than on weapons that will never be used, unless it is to end the world?
Even so… Wanna risk that?
Does Russia? Even Putin knows that if he presses the big red button, it’s open season on him—not just a potential nuclear response from the outside but a nice, quiet defenestration from within. I think Russia will stick to conventional warfare as long as possible.
If Russia gets attacked, his days are over anyways
Keep in mind that RU beets all of Europe in military production righflt now.
LOL, Putin’s war in Ukraine has demonstrated quite clearly the value of the Russian military. There’s a reason he’s terrified of NATO. Ukraine has held off Russia’s “superior” might with civilian-grade drones. Any actual military response from NATO would crush Russia like a brick through wet tissue paper.
Russian military doctrine is not based on quality.
The problem for Western Europe now is that they are invested in small expeditionary styled formations and high-cost components. Eastern and Northern Europe (and Nords) are the only nations planning for defensive actions, and the only ones with enough Democratic cohesion to operate.
Russia would engage in hybrid depletionary tactics follwed by grinding efforts of force, like the Ukraine situation. Europe can only win in against this strategy if they are willing to operationally decapitate (Iraq war style), but are politically set up for defensive lines at most. Trying to decapitate Russia will most likelyy lead to WW3, so it is a non-starter.
Ironically, the Balts might actually survive the next decade, due to their strategic value for the Nords and Poland.
If Europe really wanted to participate in their own security, they would he dumping weapons and money into Ukraine.
Russia has already ground through much of its resources in Ukraine and it’s not making meaningful advances. It doesn’t have the resources to attack other nations on top of that.
And European countries could easily cripple the Russian war machine with precision strikes, hit major resource production centers, infrastructure, etc.
But more to the point, once it’s Russia vs. Europe, Russian support for Putin’s war (because it is his war) will evaporate near-instantly, and he will be killed. Europe doesn’t have to decapitate Russia; the Russians will do that.
Europe should occupy Moscow for at least 50-100 years until it has reformed Russia and excised the mafia state. These things die hard though, so it requires a few generations of occupation.
A weird assumption that an occupation would cut down corruption.
Historically occupations tend to be troublesome affairs. The west spent 20 years in Afghanistan and got nowhere. I agree that the mafia state must be dealt with, but going by the west’s ability to run an occupation that doesn’t turn the inhabitants against them, is practically nil.
It might go better if the Russians see more bombs falling on their own soil for a few years before the occupation begins. Afterwards, we are looking for something like the way Western Germany was rehabilitated after WWII.
Did y’all not learn anything from the War on Terror? This shit does not work. Western Germany wasn’t “rehabilitated” by the Allied occupation, but by decades of action post-occupation. The Allied occupation was perfectly content to coopt Nazis into its anti-Soviet bloc.