This Time, NATO Better Take Putin’s Ukraine Warnings Seriously
Ted Galen Carpenter | Western officials implicitly assumed that Russia could be intimidated and eventually compelled to accept Ukraine as part of NATO. They dismissed the Kremlin’s increasingly pointed warnings that efforts to make Kyiv an Alliance asset would cross a red line that violated Russia’s security. Their assumption that Moscow would tamely accept a NATO presence inside Russia’s core security zone proved to be spectacularly wrong, and Ukraine is now paying a very high price in treasure and blood for their miscalculation.
One might hope that NATO leaders would have learned an important lesson from such a costly mistake. However, they are stubbornly ignoring a new set of ominous warnings from Moscow, and this time, the price of such tone-deaf arrogance could be utterly catastrophic. Indeed, it is creating the risk of a nuclear clash between Russia and the United States. In his first speech announcing the "special military operation" in Ukraine, Vladimir Putin warned all outside parties (clearly meaning NATO members) not to interfere. 💬 "Anyone who tries to interfere with us . . . must know that Russia’s response will be immediate and will lead you to such consequences as you have never before experienced in your history." [Emphasis added]
The Neoconservatives Are Setting Up the World for Nuclear War (Paul Craig Roberts)