Public sentiment is predominantly skeptical towards the threat posed by Russia, viewing the military capabilities as exaggerated. There is a strong call for more decisive NATO action, mixed with apprehension about the potential for escalating conflicts. Many commenters express frustration with both NATO's provocations and the implications of current geopolitical maneuvers, highlighting a divided opinion on whether Russia or NATO is the real aggressor.

NATO

Russia

Western Countries

From the article: 

"ISW said it sees no evidence that Russia is actively preparing for an inevitable conflict with NATO right now."

Please read carefully.

Dapper_Penalty4639

This just doesn’t seem logical even by Russian standards. Though the 2022 invasion obviously didn’t seem logical either. 

Even though a Europe-Russia conflict seems entirely irrational, I think it is concerning that western intelligence must believe that the threat is credible given there are stories and analysis such as this released every few months these days.

Infamous-Insect-8908

Russia’s long-term strategy focuses on reshaping Europe politically rather than through immediate war. While it already has sympathetic allies in Hungary, Slovakia, and possibly the Czech Republic, its ultimate goal is to influence/control major Western European powers, like France, Germany, the UK, Italy, and Spain, by supporting far-right, anti-EU movements. If successful, and if the U.S. remains disengaged, Russia could weaken NATO and EU unity, paving the way for a gradual reassertion of dominance over Eastern Europe within the next decade—not necessarily through open invasion, but via political, economic, and hybrid means aligned with Putin’s vision of restoring a Russian sphere of influence.

Zaigard

I am just going to ask the very simple, yet so far unanswerable question.

With what?

Firecracker048

I think we’re seeing a real structural clash between the West and Russia. The West kind of assumes that liberal democracy is the natural ‘end point’ of history something every society will eventually move toward. Russia, on the other hand, sees itself as a distinct civilization with its own path, and rejecting that Western story is part of its identity. That’s why this tension keeps simmering it’s not just about land or NATO, it’s about two worldviews that can’t fully accept the other’s legitimacy.

Wide-Chart-7591

This is a real, genuine concern: I think it’s fair for the ISW to call it out for what it is. If Russia utilized the same level of force against the Baltic states that it’s currently applying in Ukraine, it would be extremely difficult for NATO to respond. Russia’s advantages in drone deployment alone massively outweigh the whole of NATO - in one day along the front in Ukraine the Russian Armed Forces used at least 12,000 FPV drones. In a day. 

As it stands at the moment, NATO has no unmanned systems structure whatsoever let alone the drones, pilots, training infrastructure and doctrine to create one. It would be a disaster for which we’re completely, totally unprepared without US help. If Russia decides that Trump might order US forces to sit this one out, it could be worth doing to split NATO when inevitably countries like Spain, Italy, Portugal and others decide they don’t want to respond to an Article 5 notification by the Baltic states.

We’d be totally and completely reliant on air power - but jets can’t hold ground. F35s are great, but hugely expensive and European operators have few deep strike options. A lot of heavy equipment has already been sent to Ukraine.

There’s no way Russia would be able to do this while being engaged as they are in Ukraine: but that’s just a question of sequencing, not whether it could happen or not. Anyone who thinks this scenario is out of the question is living in a dream world.

OverallAir84

Europe is not and does not want to enter a war economy, but if it ever happens, for Russia the hopes of bringing home a victory are zero, and Putin knows this.


What war are we talking about? These claims are absolutely ridiculous 


On Ukraine, they clearly miscalculated, and found themselves with their hands and feet in something they never wanted to be in, just like the US in Afghanistan. They are strategic and tactical mistakes that drag you and force you into something unexpected


What Russia wants today is to come out of it with its head held high, nothing more 

Puzzleheaded-Fan-452

Did anyone leak the details of the last Alaska meeting between Trump &amp; Putin where all the officials walked out ashen faced ? 

Or was that reaction because Putin walked all over him not the declaration of a European War before January 2026 ?

HH93

I like how the media flips between "Russia is doing cavalry charges with 18th century equipment in Ukraine" and "Russia is planning on going to war with NATO" on any given day

Last_Operation6747

Doesn't matter ... they're done either way ... it's just a matter of time before they collapse !

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So the Russian military got so much reserve that they are planning to attack NATO?

Doctor_Saved

Russia isn’t going to open another front, this is limp dick intimidation.

SHITBLAST3000

What an extremely shitty click bait title. Geez.

'Russia exercises in Kaliningrad' , but that doesn't get the clicks I suppose.

Dofolo

So they are just training in Kalingrad and what? :D why wouldn’t they hit targets if they are aiming for their training targets. Nobody in Baltics is even talking about it, relax.

Civil_Philosophy9845

This is a fear monger headline. They were doing some pretty routine training exercises that any military would do. 

I live in Estonia, and our media is very attentive to what Russia does. I've not seen this mentioned, and we're not panicking and prepping for an imminent attack.

snakesnake9

steven_cornthrob

Russia has its hands full with Ukraine. Anyone seriously believe Russia would last a month against NATO?

colorme1965

The non fear mongering version is: Russian bombers hit training targets in Russian territory.

Jack_Spears

Shinigami19961996

Cheeky_Star

How sick and tired am I of opening another thread and realising it sensationalist, clickbait Newsweek bullshit yet again.

Never fails to get upvoted to the front page.

What an awkward week to be from the Baltics.

SunDyu

“Baltics prepare for attack” 

What is this supposed to mean?

CallsignPreacherOne

Newsweek is the same rag that told us about bat boy isnt it? garbage.

awfulgoodness

Krasnoarmeyets

Russia is getting their ass handed to them by Ukraine and they think they can handle other countries LOL.. ok

Tennyson98

Russia can’t establish air superiority over Ukraine so they’ve held their air forces back. What makes anybody think they can establish air superiority over a NATO country for any significant period of time?

MTClip

NATO would rapidly crush Russia in a real conflict and everyone knows it.

pecheckler

They're trying to spook NATO countries into thinking an incursion of some sort might be on the cards, and hence they won't want to keep shipping their ammo and equipment to Ukraine. I really think it's that simple.

Sir_Edna_Bucket

Newsweek is such a dogshit rag, it's actually not even funny anymore. I swear they could report on Putin farting and label it CHEMICAL WEAPON ATTACK NEAR NATO ALLIES

Ghosting_everyone

fck off, every fckin 30 minutes theres shit like this being posted

Tyomke

I don't know anything, but is Russia provoking NATO and serving as a proxy for China that will use this as a distraction from an advance on Taiwan?

MrEoss

"_When you are weak show strength._" - Chinese fella, long time ago.

makemycockcry

Russians are legitimate targets now. Shoot first. Worry about it later or not!

Elegant_Section8225

Sounds like Putler wants to rapidly convert his remaining air force into a ground force with the help of NATO. Guns into instant plows it is then....

MartyMacGyver

Honestly so sick of Russia. If their people are dumb enough to sit back and watch Putin attack NATO, they've got it coming sadly.

Jensen1994

NATO really is in a bind. They don’t want to look like a bitch and let Russia fuck around, but if they shoot down Putin’s planes or otherwise protect their borders, Putin will claim he’s being attacked and justify all his actions. That, of course, will make it even easier to brainwash the plebs in the fatherland. So what to do?

MooseOfTychoBrahe

Newsweek should be fucking banned from here

Unforgivably, inexcusably garbage headlines every time

Joazzz1

Its all posturing.  They don't have the logistics or military power to do this.

DarthVadersCousin

Frosty-Ad-2971

I feel like Poland gets really hard thinking about it. Would be pretty deep penetration of Russian ego

Elssir

Russia bombers prepare to get shot down immediately by NATO during attack that will not happen

AbyssFren

Because they dont have enough soldiers and taking huge blow with their oil refineries, they're looking for a pretext to say their population they are attacked by NATO and need to mobilize for war.

Balijana

Xi is quietly waiting to scoop up Russian territory and oil when Putin comes begging - Again.

Mysterious-Prompt212

Russia is literally making moves on NATO countries now ? [https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c7401vk4lgzo](https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c7401vk4lgzo)

go_go_tindero

The risk is never zero, but deterrence, global interdependence, and internal pressures make a first strike REALLY unlikely. 

That said, unstable leadership (...cough cough...Trump...) or desperation (like “nothing to lose” scenarios) are exactly why nuclear policy needs constant vigilance.

NanditoPapa

Zero chance.

Europe and the USA have been given scraps to Ukraine and look at how the "3 days special operation" is going,

With the full might of Europe military (yes, even the current state of the Europeans armies), especially air power, Russia does not stand a chance.

They have air and sea superiority.

Thesorus

Russian here.

&gt;what if Putin decides that he has nothing to lose?

I don't understand why people keep thinking Putin is a suicidal lunatic. He definitely has imperial ambitions, but from all we've seen he's definitely not a person willing to die.

  
As for the war, I don't see it happening with the whole of NATO. But if NATO collapses, or countries leave, or a small-scale war starts and NATO doesn't react - that is definitely a possibility.

Dacadey

There 2 areas where they can really can make a move on NATO.  Baltics and Romania. Those are the weak points.  Realistically, what it makes the most sense is actually Moldova. Borders NATO and Ukraine, highly devised with a high pro-russian population, close to Odessa and they already have an army in Moldova. I am 100% sure a Belarus like scenario for Moldova was always the second step in the Ukraine war and further. Sundays election in Moldova are very important if you are interested in the topic.

jimcke

Nuclear war between superpowers or Nato-aligned countries? No. The future is continual griefing, needling of boundaries/limits, ratfucking, right wing political poisoning etc, all the way down. Ukraine invasion was a costly overstep and not the norm.

However, a tactical nuclear strike on non-Nato members or other weaker nations is absolutely on the cards. And bear in mind, S&amp;P predict a 50% chance of hitting +2.3ºC warming in 15 years. That is an unthinkably changed world where resource conflict will be almost essential for nations to survive.

missinglabchimp

Russia has no interest in being the clear aggressor because that would put China in an awkward position in which they cannot claim neutrality because Europe clearly has no interest in actually engaging in a war. If Europe is undeniably forced I wouldn‘t bet on China if I was Russia because after all, the West is a bigger market than Russia and its unreliably allies with individual interests.

Industrus_

If they win the war in Ukraine then yes, that's their only hope to even be capable of being a threat. If they lose in Ukraine as they did in Afghanistan, then they will be licking their wounds for next decade. Actually losing in Afghanistan contributed to fall of Soviet Union. It's up to west if we support Ukraine enough. If west proves we are weak, there will definitely be a war eventually, especially if US, France, Germany and others start sending signals that their citizens won't be dying for Estonia or Poland.

abc_744

In the current state of affairs, no, Russia can’t launch an attack on NATO.
HOWEVER. 
If the US withdraw from NATO or show signs of not helping NATO on an eastern theater (might be because of a Taiwan conflict or political disengagement) AND the EU unravels on the question of how to answer to Russian aggression; then Putin may have a window. He also needs some sort of victory in Ukraine. 
I also suspect that it wouldn’t be immediately crass as tanks rolling into Poland. It might well be a couple years of hybrid attacks from Belarus onto the Baltic states, perhaps to draw NATO troops onto Belarus territory for example. 
THEN if things go terribly wrong for either Russia or EU forces, then there could be a real risk that nukes start flying.

Brisbanoch30k

It seems Putin is about to run out of gas literally and figuratively. History suggests when things get too tight, the population gets antsy regardless how tightly they have been controlled. 


Unless things turn around dramatically for some unforeseen reason, it seems likely that Putin might not only run out of gas, he might lose his head literally and figuratively. You can bet the oligarchs have been discussing how much they like having money and if his losses keep mounting, they risk losing everything too, soooooooo


If it's him, or them....

ExcitedGirl

There's a chance, but keep in mind that nuclear escalation is not automatic. It's not that nukes immediately start flying once tanks roll out.

curiouslyjake

I think more division and trying to create stronger right wing party support in Europe. 

picknicksje85

NATO has promised retaliation but its a little tricky when you send non-russian Nationals to do your dirty work.

k-lar_

No, they can’t defeat Ukraine, they just wish to sow dissent and distract forces and equipment from the front lines in Ukraine.

Orangesteel

Define "move." Screwing around? Teasing and testing? Little Green Men, hacking, all that backdoor shenanigans? Or an actual ground invasion? They're stretched to the breaking point in Ukraine, how are they going to go after NATO in any meaningful way? They'd get clobbered.

johnp299

There is a chance, but it is a small one. If you attack first, you might be able to survive better, if you can take out almost all of the other country's nukes. It may be suicide, but there is no guarantee that the leader of any country is sane at any time. Trump is not all that rational all of the time either.....

25TiMp

There are moves made in this "game" now as it was during the cold war.
Proxy wars and conflicts are nothing new in the nuclear age, the great powers have high tolerance for pain without going nuclear.

If Russia invaded Finland to test nato, nato would not launch nukes, it would be a conventional fight in Finland. There would not be a mad dash to Moscow at all.

No one wants nuclear war, france, uk, us wont risk it over Finland, or any of the border countries. 

If Nato responds, Russia would be able to reteat and nobody would follow them.

There would be no total war unless they did something insane (and they wont)

Norseviking4

Extremely unlikely. Ukraine is already showing NATO how to shut down Russia's economy.

AI drone swarms can essentially enforce a 100-200 mile buffer zone inside Russia's border that kills all mechanised transport and troops a few waves of radar and air defence killer drones would give NATO air superiority over Russia and a few hundred cruise missiles would be enough to shut down Russia's Oil &amp; Gas industry.

Another key point is that Ukraine has seriously downgraded Russia's military hardware and there is not enough time between this war's end and 2030 for Russia to bring its inventory back to a level to support a major war.

Putin may decide he has nothing to lose but his supporting 'cast' are likely considering that they'd like to keep their money and status. Putin is likely to fall out a window pretty soon if he doesn't give up on his 'special military operation'.

farticustheelder

Big issue is that China does not want it, and Chinese opinion is very important to Russia even though they are also kinda pissed with how China behaves...for example flooding Russia with their cars and other goods, forcing beneficial deals on natural gas and wood etc., at the same time protecting their own market from Russia's produce. Or not helping much in the war.
When it comes to Europe, France or UK obviously will not make any nuclear moves and Finland will not go on offensive to reclaim lost territory. Maybe if in some way Putin pisses off Trump there could be such a thing but I doubt it. For all the rhetoric Trump is cautious when it comes to serious stuff 

DueAnnual3967

That would require predicting the future by supernatural means.  
There is a chance Putin could naturally die in office  
There is a chance Putin could be removed from power  
There is a chance the War in Ukraine could reach a cease-fire  
There is a chance Russia would use any period of peace to rebuild it's military  
There is a chance Russia could attack another nation  
There is a chance war can end and nothing happens while Russia goes quiet

The point is, there are too many variables to have a clear answer.

Electrical_Mission43

Only if backed by the Chinese and the US can be assuredly removed from intervening.. 

The Russian economy is currently a dumpster fire, and its lost a lot of its Soviet era stockpile of material in Ukraine, it can't really fight a war into NATO even if it wanted to.

CammKelly

Russia is already making moves on NATO on an almost daily basis.

However, there seems to be a spike in nuclear scaremongering on this subreddit, so I will write here what I wrote on the last post:

No, it's extremely unlikely and people nuclear scaremongering are usually working in Russia's interests - there are corporations and individuals that want to normalize relations with Russia (big population = big market), so pretending the nuclear threat is bigger than it is, is a way of avoiding dealing with a very easily dealt-with problem. Russia is actually very weak, and could be slapped down militarily quite easily. We should be doing this. It has been nearly four years and Russia hasn't been able to defeat a country a fraction of its size.  Corruption is rampant, the economy is going to shit. You have nothing to worry about besides the fascist idiots and corporations who want to befriend Putin and exaggerate the threat that he poses to the west.

That said, the threat he and complicit Russians pose to Ukrainians is \*worse\* than the nuclear option. Ukrainians have been violently r\*реd and t\*rtured, children stolen, homes lost. The long drawn out death, physical and spiritual, that comes from Russians invading is so much worse than a quick nuke. 

MountainOpposite513

With what equipment. From what I understand russian has no really usable tanks left in reserve. There using military trucks from the 1950's or donkeys to shift stuff around. There only really strength right now is manpower.

EaterOfLemon

No.  Putin and Russia can't cripple its neighbor.  Its much more likely that Russian actors perfotm a bunch of asymmetric warfare on nato countries.  Imagine is non stat Russian actors were, let's say, operating out of Iran, and performed cyber attacks daily on nato infrastructure.  They aren't Russian state sponsored attacks.  They aren't Iranian sponsored attacks.  But they are funded by Russia and given cover by Iran.  That's about their only effective war fighting capacity against a nato country.  Their traditional military would probably fall 100:1 in a traditional engagement.

IrishThree

Yes. With help from Trump's America. Putin didn't bankrupt his country just to have Ukraine.

Toadfinger

Zero chance.

1. Russia isn't strong enough. It doesn't have enough people to take and hold European ground. On average you need 1 soldier for every 20 local people wherever you intend to occupy. The only reason it works in Eastern Ukraine is they actually want them there.

2. For what? What does Russia gain from invading Europe?

ParticularClassroom7

The definition of war is slowly changing.

Denying security instead seems a lot more menacing. Swarm of drones. Closing airports. Cyberattacks. Economically choking countries. 

The political echelon is a bit too slow to realize this and a lot of countries have already invested a lot in conventional weaponry so they'll keep this recent development under the wraps for as long as possible, but that PR shield is cracking (Denmark).

ChrisTchaik

Hybrid warfare tactics aside, suppose US does manages to exit NATO and UK follows and then a LePen type character wins in France...it's guaranteed they will go after Baltic states, possibly Finland, Moldova, Poland and Georgia, maybe more, maybe less. The issue is the presence of nuclear deterrent or not and without US, UK and France there is no guarantee, anything is possible especially with China and India backing among other Brics nations. This is why nuclear arming the rest of Europe is not a question of should but how soon.

activedusk

Any move Russia tries to make against the rest of the world could very well be their last. their military is complete garbage, their economy is almost gone, oligarchs are being defenestrated, and because of massive corruption, I very much doubt any of their nuclear weapons are in working order.


This might he the best time to wipe out Russia and bring back stability to the world. It would also send out a warning to China that they're next if they don't end their dreams of invading Taiwan.

Milnoc

Nope. Russia has no business with nato other than the constant fear of being invaded. That's the only reason the war in ukraine is even happening

DependentFeature3028

The only country in the world that is likely to strike first with a nuclear weapon is Israel. Period. 
Russia and all of the other nuclear powers will use this type of weapon only as a final deterrent, meaning if there is an attack on their mainland jeopardizing their existence. 
Also, I doubt that Russia would ever risk direct conflict with NATO, and even if NATO collapsed they would not be making a move on Poland or any other major country as I fail to see any utility in this. The only potential flashpoint would be the Baltics, if they tried to connect Kaliningrad with their mainland, but this is possible only in the case of a total collapse of NATO. 

Srfaman

Elixir of life. Absolutely hates anyone that could clone him! 

Independent Scientist, Mad Scientist! 

Multilinguals...

Dreaming_Bot

The more plausible is the scenario where NATO decides to invade Russia while it's weakened by Ukraine. But as a "defensive alliance", they can't start shooting without reason, so at first they will burn down Reichstag again and say "it was Russians highly likely".

cuterebro

Recent warnings from German intelligence officials highlight escalating tensions between Russia and NATO, raising concerns over potential conflict.

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