Bungling Putin had provoked the world’s largest, best-armed military force into setting up camp slap bang on Russia’s doorstep. Conversely, Nato is again locked into a dangerous eyeball-to-eyeball confrontation with Russia that will probably outlast the current conflict. A catastrophic failure of deterrence – Nato’s traditional raison d’être – led Putin to think he could seize a European country and get away with it. In contrast, Nato leaders are adamant: they are not fighting Russia, they are helping Ukraine defend itself. The level of Nato military support now being provided far exceeds what was envisaged a year ago.

Source: The Guardian March 06, 2023 00:04 UTC