The conflict could happen even before the end of the war in Ukraine.
The Kremlin may start a war with NATO to justify its defeat in Ukraine. It is likely that the aggression will be of a hybrid nature, analyst Valery Klochko said in an interview with Focus.
Klochko claims that other experts with whom he maintains professional relationships, like himself, are confident that Russian aggression against the Baltic states is inevitable. Discussions between experts are only on the topic of whether this will be a hybrid aggression or a full-scale invasion. Klochko himself is inclined to the first option, since the Russian Federation is already “stuck” in Ukraine with all its strength.
“Putin uses the old horror story about the “oppression of Russian speakers” to justify the attack on the Baltic countries, as he did in Crimea. For the Baltic countries, the eviction of Russians is now a preventive measure, but the Kremlin wants to use it,” the analyst notes.
As for the motives for such an attack, Klyuchko is sure that Putin simply does not want to lose the war to Ukraine – it’s too embarrassing. But losing to the entire NATO is not.
The prospect of a war between Russia and NATO
As wrote, the Chairman of the NATO Military Committee, Admiral Rob Bauer, announced the end of the era of order in the world. According to him, World War III could start at any moment, so the West must radically reconsider its approaches to military planning.
Meanwhile, analysts at the American Institute for the Study of War note that the Kremlin has noticeably stepped up its long-standing efforts to create a pretext for escalation against the Baltic states. Although this does not mean that an invasion will certainly take place, Putin is already creating the information conditions for possible aggression, observers say.
