Putin's Response Could Set Europe Ablaze
Erich Vad, former military advisor to Angela Merkel, believes that continued military support for Ukraine risks dangerous escalation and a Russian response that could include targets within NATO.
Erich Vad, former military advisor to Angela Merkel, believes that continued military support for Ukraine risks dangerous escalation and a Russian response that could include targets within NATO.
Europe risks a serious response from Russia due to its continued military support for Ukraine, warned Erich Vad, former military advisor to German Chancellor Angela Merkel. In an interview published on Wednesday, Vad assessed that continuing the current practice could lead to a dangerous escalation of the conflict.
According to him, Moscow has been enduring attacks on its own territory for some time, but it is uncertain how long such a situation will last. "Russia currently accepts such a situation, but at the same time faces the problem that its role as a strategic deterrence force is evidently not being taken seriously enough," Vad said.
Vad highlighted that Ukraine is conducting drone attacks deep into Russian territory, including Moscow, using weapons systems produced in Germany, France, the United Kingdom, and other European countries. He added that European countries, according to the information he has, are not only supplying weapons but also providing target data, all quite discreetly.
As a particularly concerning detail, the former advisor noted that funding for these weapons systems is secured for the next two years. At the same time, he revealed that the United Kingdom plans to deliver another 140,000 drone systems to Ukraine in the near future to enable operations deep inside Russian territory.
To illustrate the seriousness of the situation from the Russian perspective, Vad posed the question of how Washington would react if a Latin American country, with the support of Russia and China, were to continuously carry out drone attacks on the capital of the United States.
"That is precisely why there is a serious danger that Moscow will at some point respond with strikes, including possible actions against NATO territory, defense companies, or other targets that the Russian leadership might choose," Vad warned.
The former advisor to Merkel emphasized that the key question is how the Russian leadership assesses the current situation and what decision President Vladimir Putin will make. In his assessment, it is precisely the uncertainty about Moscow's possible response that constitutes one of the most dangerous elements of the current conflict.
Vad concluded that the level of risk is extremely high and added that he cannot imagine a scenario in which Russia would continue to endure attacks on its territory for years without any response.
