Aggressive Russian talk backed by capabilities is worrisome. But the talk isn't as worrisome without the capabilities:
The [Russian] government declared, quietly but in several ways, that its effort to revive the military has reached the point where military spending can be reduced and more spent on reviving the economy. The government points out that because of additional military spending since 2011 the NATO threat has been blocked and that, not another Cold War, was the real objective of all the military spending and accusations that NATO was scheming to surround and destroy Russia.
It's easy to declare victory over a threat that was never a real military threat. So bravo, Russia, you "blocked" NATO. Shots of vodka, all around.
Maybe Russia's leaders might like to look east where the real threat to Russia grows.
Mind you, Russia even with capabilities no greater than they have now is capable of overwhelming weaker neighbors in a smaller theater adjacent to Russia yet far from NATO's centers of power.
And Strategypage notes that if Russia can settle Syria down, Russia will put their limited resources back to targeting Ukraine. So it isn't all peace and harmony after declaring mission accomplished.
Defeating Russia will always rely on mobilizing force for a longer war to eject Russia from easy initial gains.
