Reuben Johnson, a former U.S. Defense Department consultant and expert on foreign military affairs, sees strong signs that Russian dictator Vladimir Putin is mobilizing forces to attack NATO. He knows that the window of opportunity to carry out such a plan is rapidly closing.
Points of attention
- If NATO fails to respond to a potential Russian invasion, it could severely damage the alliance's authority according to the expert's analysis.
- Expert predicts that Putin will act swiftly to attack before Russia's financial situation deteriorates further, potentially mirroring the invasion of Crimea in 2014.
Putin is preparing to invade NATO
According to the expert, the illegitimate head of the Kremlin sees NATO's weakness and is also convinced that the current situation in Europe represents a window of opportunity.
Johnson predicts that Putin will make his next move as soon as possible before Russia's financial situation deteriorates completely.
Putin's move would be to attack through the strategically important Suwalki Corridor, which connects Russia's Kaliningrad with Belarus. Putin's rationale and "game plan" for seizing this corridor would be an exact replica of the invasion of Crimea in March 2014, the expert notes.
According to Johnson, the Russian dictator will want to take advantage of the tensions between US President Donald Trump's team and European leaders.
Putin hopes to seize this land bridge and end Kaliningrad's geographical isolation.
This would violate the sovereignty of Estonia, Lithuania and Poland, which are NATO members. If NATO does not respond to a Russian invasion of this kind, Putin could destroy what is left of the alliance's authority, the expert stressed.
