Even as NATO is reducing military exercises to focus on helping member states in Europe cope with the Wuhan Flu, Russia notified NATO of large-scale exercises that NATO estimates will involve 82,000 troops:
"Moscow provided a notification that they were going to have a snap exercise, which they said was intended to test their capabilities to provide military support to the civil response to the COVID-19 outbreak," Stoltenberg said.
The Russian Defence Ministry said in a statement that the drills, carried out from March 25-28, would include medical units and nuclear, biological and chemical protection troops.
"But we actually judge that this exercise was also used to demonstrate to NATO that they remain combat-ready despite COVID-19," he said.
After Russia has denied there is much of a Wuhan Flu problem in Russia, are we really going to believe they are testing their ability to provide military assistance domestically to an epidemic response?
Unless Russia plans to transition very rapidly from that exercise into an offensive against a NATO state to take advantage of the pandemic in Europe, isn't Russia just risking spreading the Wuhan Flu among his military and making it less combat-ready in the future?
Because it will take time for the quality Western militaries to degrade in the absence of exercises that hone skills.
Unless Russia really does just want to cast a giant shadow as if nothing is going wrong.
I admit it is a coin toss as to whether Putin is chest-pounding and flinging poo, taking advantage of a crisis, or effing up royally:
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.
Chimps with nukes.
What Western plot could be as effective at wrecking Russia than Putin himself? Seriously, why isn't there a conspiracy theory floating around Russia on that possibility?
Are we really going to go with the notion that Putin cares very deeply about public health issues in Russia rather than clawing back more bits of the Soviet/Russian empire during his reign?
Yeah, Putin really seems to care. About what I have no idea.
Of course, there is always the healing power of "and" to consider.
#WhyRussiaCan'tHaveNiceThings
UPDATE: This warning from General Mark Milley, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is really more general in nature:
“We came upon some intelligence some time ago that the drug cartels as a result of COIVD-19 were going to try to take advantage of the situation and try to infiltrate additional drugs into our country,” Milley said, without providing further detail. “We’re at war with COVID-19, we’re at war with terrorists, and we’re at war with drug cartels as well.”
We can still fight if necessary despite the Wuhan Flu.
