Russia says that the NATO plan to increase military readiness will cause Russia to react in kind:
Russia says that a new NATO plan to enhance its combat readiness in Europe would weaken security on the continent, and is warning that Moscow would take that into account in its own military planning.
Deputy Foreign Minister Aleksandr Grushko criticized the initiative known as Four Thirties in comments on June 13. He said that Russia would take all necessary military measures to guarantee its own security.
The Russians are right. Psychotic, but absolutely right. By definition, a more prepared NATO is in theory a threat at some level to Russia.
But why is Europe, which after NATO won the Cold War allowed itself to become such a militarily weak post-reality entity, actually somewhat willing to be dragged from the Disneyesque fantasy land they were building back into the real world where military power counts?
That would be because Europeans are again feeling a military threat from Russia.
I mentioned the American NATO plan before. It is the effect caused by Russian aggression in Europe, from the invasion of Ukraine to threats to NATO and other neighboring states.
If not for Russia, Europeans would have been happy to let their militaries atrophy and fade away into something resembling national paramilitary police forces.
Putin isn't playing a poor hand brilliantly, he's effing things up royally for Russia:
Russia has alienated the West which was not a military threat to Russia by pointless threats to the West given weight by Russian invasions of Georgia and Ukraine, even though the West was willing to help Russia upgrade their defense industry until 2014; while China stole and then surpassed Russian military technology and production methods.
And recall that China has dormant claims on Russian Far Eastern territory with a treaty keeping those claims dormant up for cancellation in 2021.
Putin isn't brilliant. He is weakening Russia's economy, failing to arrest the decline of Russia's defense industries, alienating potential allies, and strengthening potential enemies all for the "glory" of Abhkazia, South Ossetia, Crimea, parts of the Donbas, and bases in Assad's Syria.
And he's not that impressive riding a horse bare-chested, truth be told.
Will none of Putin's advisors tell him he's effing up massively?
