The West’s choice to finally send tanks to Ukraine has induced some to ask the uncomfortable question: Does this imply that NATO is now in direct battle with Russia?
This narrative, which is being pushed laborious by the Kremlin, undoubtedly helps Russian President Vladimir Putin and his allies deflect from the truth that Moscow launched an unprovoked attack on Ukraine and illegally occupied elements of a sovereign state.
It additionally, maybe extra conveniently for Putin, provides NATO allies pause for thought relating to deciding precisely how much military assistance they need to give Ukraine.
First issues first: The consensus amongst consultants is that no NATO member is anyplace close to what may very well be thought-about “at warfare” with Russia by any internationally accepted authorized definition. Due to this fact, the concept that the alliance as an entire is at warfare with Russia is a non-starter.
“Conflict would require strikes carried out by US or NATO forces, in uniform, attacking from NATO territory in opposition to Russian forces, Russian territory, or the Russian populace,” explains William Alberque, from the Worldwide Institute for Strategic Research.
“Any preventing by Ukraine – with any standard weapons, in opposition to any Russian forces – just isn’t US/NATO warfare on Ukraine, regardless of how a lot Russia desires to assert it so,” he provides.
Moscow’s tactic: That hasn’t saved the Kremlin from exploiting sure gray areas inherent to fashionable warfare to incorrectly declare that NATO is the chief aggressor within the battle.
These gray areas may embrace using Western intelligence to hold out assaults on Russian targets.
They might additionally invoke the US “warfare on terror” and use of NATO’s Article 5 after the 9/11 assaults, during which America was attacked by terrorists reasonably than a nation state, as a doubtful parallel.
Russia’s Safety Council secretary, Nikolai Patrushev, has claimed that the West is making an attempt to “destroy” Russia. Anatoly Antonov, Russia’s ambassador to the United States, has stated that the US administration is pushing Ukraine to “carry out terrorist attacks in Russia.”
Extra context: No matter slim advantage there may be to those cynical claims, they pale compared to the documented brutality and illegal actions of Russian forces in Ukraine since Putin ordered the invasion.
However the truth that they exist and are being taken significantly by analysts and commentators outdoors of Russia, including in Washington DC, performs into the Kremlin’s fingers in additional methods than one.
Proceed studying McGee’s full evaluation here.
