Russia Will Not Start A Conventional War In The Baltics

Russia simulated going to war against NATO, bombing Germany and invading Baltic states during its 'West 2017' military exercises

Maxwell Stangl, National Interest: Russia Won't Start a (Conventional) War in the Baltics

Western military planners need to reorganize and align units in such a way that they can handle Russian hybrid warfare, while preparing for a conventional attack as a secondary measure.

The sound of BM-21 rockets streaking across the sky. The smell of spent brass and burned powder. The rumble of BTR-82 armored personnel carriers rolling through a narrow street. Rebels sprinting from building to building through an open field of fire. These sights do not evoke a striking imagine of a modern European country, but Russian posturing in the region might lead to this.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, international spectators believed this Eurasian military powerhouse would cease. However, the Russian Federation has returned to its old Cold War ways, increasing aggressive activities against its neighbors in an attempt to stymie North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) expansion. As seen with the annexation of Crimea in 2014 or the liberation of South Ossetia and Abkhazia in the 2008 Georgian War, Russia has used its military to destabilize bordering nations.

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WNU Editor: Russia will start a conventional war in the Baltics, but they do train for it .... Estonian Commander: Russia 'Simulated A Large-Scale Attack Against NATO' During Last Year's Zapad Military Exercises (January 13, 2018).

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