THESE Countries Are Preparing For Imminent WAR With Russia

Today we need to prepare our forces for full-scale conflict not an asymmetric type conflict those were the words of Polish General Vias kakula during a press conference held in July 2024 and while kakula was talking about the need to prepare Poland's Deputy defense minister pavl bider revealed one of the measures it's taking he announced the bolstering of Poland's Eastern Border guard from 6,000 troops to 8,000 with The addition of a rear guard of 9,000 soldiers capable of supporting the front guard should a threat emerge what would that threat be a Russian invasion through Belarus and

kaliningrad Akin to Russian President Vladimir Putin's special military operation in Ukraine Poland has sent a simple message to Russia we've had enough and we're ready to fight in this video we explore the reasons why Poland is gearing up for a fullscale war with Russia and how it's Breaking defense spending records to make sure it's ready we'll start with why when Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022 the geopolitical community was left scratching its Collective head trying to figure out Putin 's specific motivation Putin claimed that his soldiers were responding to Ukraine being a hostile country while

ignoring the fact that any hostility likely stemmed from his annexation of Crimea in 2014 Russia's President also claimed That Ukraine had a Nazi problem this wasn't an invasion he tried to convince the rest of the world it was a preemptive strike against a country that was emerging as a fascist threat similar to Germany in the late 1930s all propaganda all false justifications for a war that came down to one thing territory the reality is that Putin is desperate to deliver personal Glory unto himself by reclaiming a country that was once part of the Soviet Union

Putin Himself is a product of what he likely sees as Russia's Glory Days by capturing Ukraine he takes the first step toward building an empire that he hopes will rival the scope and breadth of the one that existed during the first half of his life if there were any doubts about his motivation Putin made his desires clear during his February 2024 interview with Tucker Carlson Russia's president spent much of the interview rambling about history from his perspective he Contrasted what he called the invention of Ukraine in the 20th century with the 862 establishment of the

Russian State using that historical comparison to reason that Ukraine shouldn't exist at all it was once part of Russia it should be part of Russia again he also claimed that several areas that are now part of Ukraine particularly in the countries east and south had no historical connection to Ukraine whatsoever the Noosa which includes Crimea is one of Those areas so are maripo bakut and keran all key targets of the Russian military campaign finally Putin claimed that Ukraine is an artificial state that exists solely due to Stalin's will the country was created by Soviet leadership

of old the Russian leader argued and its existence means that Ukraine is occupying land to which it has no historical claim through all of this rambling one message was clear Putin invaded Ukraine because he believed Ukraine should not exist it was once merely a part of Russia and it should be so again what does any of this have to do with Poland to Poland Russia actions in Ukraine are the sign of a leader who is simply trying to restore Russia to the old days when it ruled over much of Eastern Europe few countries understand what

this really means more than Poland like Ukraine Poland has gone through periods of its history when it didn't officially exist as a state the three Partitions of Poland that occurred during the later 18th century offer a perfect example in 1772 Russia Austria and Prussia signed a treaty that partitioned Poland between the three states at the time Poland had been devastated by Civil War and was in no real position to defend itself the country lost around 81,500 Square mil of territory and about half its population to the treaty with Russia receiving almost all of the land

to the east of The denipa and deina rivers a second partition in 1793 transferred much of Western Ukraine and parts of Lithuania and bellarus to Russia both of which were previously parts of Poland and in 1795 Russia signed a third partition treaty with Prussia and Austria that divided the remaining polish land about 83,000 Square mil among the three countries Poland ceased to exist for over a century after this point the country was only restored to official Statehood again in 1918 following the conclusion of World War I by now you're already likely seeing parallels with Ukraine

while the stories are different both countries histories have seen them ruled by Russia at some point Putin's proclivity for using distorted historical claims to justify his invasion of Ukraine could just as easily apply to Poland after all the country was largely Russian for decades what's to say Putin wouldn't start start a war With Poland using that historical fact as justification just as he did in Ukraine and there's more like Ukraine Poland fell under Soviet rule in the wake of World War II the early years of this rule were marred by former Soviet leader Joseph Stalin's

extensive purges between 1945 and 48 Stalin sent between 3 and 6 million polls to concentration and forced labor camps almost all being arrested and deported for supposedly harboring anti-communist sympathies Poland's intelligencia was driven away or killed in their thousands by the end of these initial 3 years nearly a million poles were either dead or on their way to dying Stalin only made the situation worse by forcing Poland's diminished Armed Forces into a civil war with the remains of the country's home Army and underground non-communist resistance movements and after all of this death and destruction Stalin

began the mass industrialization of Poland With the state only regaining its independence when the Soviet Union fell again we see parallels with Ukraine at least in terms of Poland knowing exactly what it feels like to be under Soviet rule to many in Poland Putin's special military operation is one that he hopes to extend to other states nearly 50% of polls said they believe a Russian attack on Poland is likely in February 2024 and the odds are those numbers are even higher today so Poland has a strange Type of kinship with Ukraine their histories of statehood

and non-stat are similar as are the experiences with Russian rule over the centuries and given Putin's Reliance on history as a reason for his special military operation it's no wonder that Poland is wary of just how far that false justification might carry Russia then there are the threats Putin's modus operandi throughout the war has been to deliver threats to pretty much any Country that even hints at doing something the Russian leader won't like Poland has been far from immune to these attempts to bend it to Putin's will the Russian president has made few of these

threats directly instead they've come from various allies and Kremlin mouthpieces for instance November 202 3 saw former Russian president Dimitri Medvedev claimed that Poland had positioned itself as a dangerous enemy of Moscow Medvedev who was little more Than a proxy president between 2008 and 12 and reigned mostly for Putin to get around Russia's presidential term limits wrote extensively about Poland in an 8000w essay detailing relations between the two countries the historical hostilities were front and center meddev claimed that history has more than once delivered a merciless verdict to the presumptuous polls while claiming that Russia

should now treat Poland as a historical enemy as the currently Serving Deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council medvedev's word holds enough weight for many to assume that anything he says is directly approved by Putin meddev is a Kremlin Hawk according to Reuters and he used his essay to deliver Putin's threats to Poland via his pen more threats from a Putin Ally came in February 2024 this time it was Vladimir solovov who hosts a popular state television program in Russia and has long been seen as a Kremlin Propagandist who delivered them them in addition to telling

the rest of Europe that it would simply not understand Russia's dominance in Europe until Putin decided to smash Europe's face he turned his Focus to Poland while claiming that he has sympathy for his Ukrainian Brothers acting as though they are simply Wayward siblings being set on the right path by Putin Poland enjoyed no such sympathy do the Poes want to be next they're not ukrainians he exclaimed We will not treat them like brothers we'll bloody destroy all those cities in an instant without using ground troops the message was that Russia was holding back in Ukraine

the gloves would be off against Poland missile strikes air strikes even the use of nuclear weapons all were threatened by salov who also delivered the chilling warning that Russia won't even think twice now salvio was likely exaggerating with these comments but there's no denying that he Is a Kremlin mouthpiece what he says is very much approved by Putin even if the Russian president doesn't intend to go as far as salov claims what's clear to Poland is that Russia is making threats a lot of them and not only to Poland but its neighbors in the B

and NATO as a whole combine that with the historical tensions that exist between Russia and Poland and you have all of the ingredients for a war akin to the one we're seeing in Ukraine Poland has Decided it needs to get ready for a fight the question is simple what is Poland doing to prepare for a major war that could go beyond the scale of the Ukraine war it's breaking records with its defense spending for a start toward the end of August 2024 polish prime minister Donald Tusk announced his country's 2025 budget that budget includes record

breaking defense spending that goes beyond the $ 4.57 billion Poland invested in its military In 2024 that year saw records broken in its own right with 2025 going even further Poland will spend $47.81 billion on defense next year Tusk Justified this spending by pointing towards the growth of Poland's defense Industries and how this injection of cash would be positive for the country's economy but it's very clear that preparing for war with Russia is high on the agenda there's no turning back from it Poland's Minister claimed with the increase meaning that Poland Will spend 4.7% of

its gross domestic product or GDP on its military in 2025 that also places Poland squarely on top of NATO's spending as a proportion of GDP with Estonia and the US coming in joint 2 at 3.4% these budget proposals aren't over the line just yet debate is ongoing with the budget needing to be approved by Poland's Parliament its trade unions and the country's president Andre Duda but the odds are high that it's going to pass given that PO has Already committed to spending so much on its military and public sentiment leaning toward the belief that Russia

is on the verge of invading so where is all that money going to go the East Shield is a likely candidate in May 2024 Poland announced a $2.55 billion border defense program it dubbed East Shield planned for completion by 2028 East Shield will see the country Shore up the Eastern borders it shares with the Russian Enclave of kaliningrad and Belarus which Is one of Putin's staunchest allies Poland's defense Ministry says says that this program will result in the creation of a host of new border defenses including complex telecommunication systems several hubs and fortifications running along

the 390 Mi of borders it shares with the two pro-russian territories the goal is to create a border system that is among the most complex that Europe has to offer when announcing the project polish defense Minister vladis kinc kamish claimed this makes up one complex system of defensive and deterent actions it connects access systems but we will also purchase and Implement modern and drone and reconnaissance systems he went on to hail the project as the largest of its kind since 1945 making it essential to guarding Poland's Eastern flank East Shield is far from the only

measure that Poland has taken to protect its eastern borders in recent years the country's Previous government built a 112 M long and 18t high fence complete with sensors and camera systems across the border it shares with Belarus that fence was a response to bellarus opening travel agencies in the Middle East offering the Border it shares with Poland as an unofficial route into Europe the European Union said that the move was designed to create a crisis with it being one of many examples of the asymmetric Warfare techniques Russia and Its allies use to create discontent and

unrest among its enemies Poland is wise to Putin's plans with East Shield it's going to beef up that already powerful fence with Technologies and defenses that go far beyond anything it's used before that means the Border fences will be more than a few thousand troops along with Dragon's Teeth and similar anti-tank defenses East Shield will also feature a vast Network work of surveillance systems some of which are Powered by AI to detect incoming threats according to Breaking defense there will also be a series of Base stations and Ms built across the borders each equipped with

acoustic imint and sigint warning and tracking systems that can pick up on radio and electrical signals such as those emitted by incoming aerial drones add several operations centers again supported by AI that are integrated with various intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance systems and you end up With border defenses that can even automatically activate weapons as soon as they detect a threat Poland is planning to install four AOS stats as part of East Shield essentially hot air balloons configured for military application these Aeros stats will float about 2.4 mi in the air and are equipped with various

radar and detection systems that allow them to track incoming aircraft and missiles from up to 186 M away throw in more traditional defenses Such as anti-tank ditches Wells and exploding camoufl lets then you have a series of measures that offer early warning of an impending Invasion and can slow down troops while they're on Route Poland is also preparing to fight directly at its borders with East Shield also including the construction of a host of new bunkers and ammo stores again the message is clear if Russia invades Poland intends to be ready Poland is also joined

by the Baltic States of Estonia lvia and Lithuania in beefing up border defenses the latter of these three countries also shares a border with kaliningrad and has announced the construction of 20 counter Mobility Parks costing almost $20 million along with the installation of dragon teeth and several other anti- vehicle measures along its borders like Poland the baltics are NATO members and often see their borders as the first line of defense between Russia and NATO Poland will have the more high-tech defenses but make no mistake the baltics are likely to join it if a war breaks

out there's more in addition to the ongoing East Shield Project Poland has also announced Operation Safe podlasie in July 2024 this is the operation mentioned at the beginning of the video with Poland committing to more than doubling the assignment of 6,000 soldiers to its border with bellarus another 2,000 will be added to the Active front line force with 9,000 more waiting in the wings and capable of deploying within 48 hours all of these soldiers will be equipped with individual gear along with armored vehicles transporting vehicles and medical Vehicles according to kinc kamish Operation Safe podlasie

serves as an extension of the buffer zone Poland created between itself and bellarus over the last few years the buffer zone has already led to a 50% decrease in illegal Attempts to cross the border into Poland with Operation Safe P lassi clearly intending to bring the level of unlawful immigration down even further again it's all part of Poland's border initiatives by strengthening its border it prevents bellarus acting as a Russian proxy from sending illegal immigrants via the Middle East into Poland the country keeps better track of who's coming in and out while also deterring Belarus

from a direct confrontation by Stationing more soldiers along the border so it's clear that Poland is dedicating a substantial portion of its ever increasing military budget to Shoring up its border defenses but what else is it doing how about nearly doubling the size of its standing military during a July 2023 visit to codin which is a small polish Town within just a few short miles of the border with Belarus Deputy Prime Minister yaras kitki offered some Insight into Poland's military strengthening existing units will be reinforced with new soldiers he claimed with Poland also planning on

developing three new divisions within its military that growth is already well underway Poland had an active military of 26,500 personnel at the end of 2023 by July 2024 that military had grown to 216,000 people placing Poland third out of all NATO countries only behind turkey with 481 th000 troops and the US with 1.3 million in terms of its sheer number of active Personnel the increasing polish budget is likely going to fund new recruitment efforts if kachinsky is telling the truth his country's active military should number around 413,000 in a few more years that's more than

enough to handle the combined forces of belarus's 63,000 Soldier strong active military and the 30,000 or so troops stationed in kaliningrad in the latter's case Ukraine's KK Invasion may play in Poland's favor as Putin has been forced to divert soldiers from kaliningrad to the emerging front line inside Russia let's say that despite Poland's efforts Russian forces managed to break through the East Shield already depleted thanks to the many defenses sitting along Poland's borders with kaliningrad and bellarus those forces will face a standing army that equals the Manpower of the 410,000 Army Russia had in Ukraine

as of June 2023 bear in mind That Russia has also lost over 660,000 troops in that war if it attacks Poland it's doing so with less equipment and inexperienced soldiers who will be running into the jaws of a country that has far more military power than Ukraine posed back in February 2022 and those soldiers will be fighting a country that's a NATO member Poland has no intention of attacking Russia it's building up its military to defend against Putin's aggression that Strengthened military will be joined by the the armies of over 30 other countries all triggered

into action by Article 5 of NATO's founding treaty Putin wouldn't be invading a Poland standing alone he'd be running into a multifaceted hornets nest of Cooperative forces that bolster an already powerful polish military then there are drones to consider with Poland's East Shield seemingly focusing on preventing drones from breaking through the Border or Conducting electronic warfare you'd be forgiven for thinking that the country has underestimated the attacking utility of drones it hasn't like the of the world it's seen that the Ukraine war has been a coming out party for drones with Ukraine using these lowcost

unmanned vehicles to strike Russia in Crimea KK and even Moscow in mid 2023 Poland's Armament agency which secures weapons for the country's military signed a deal with WB group for a fleet of 1,700 fly Eye unmanned aerial systems these drones are built in Poland with each fly eye system featuring four aerial vehicles that come equipped with thermal imaging cameras and multiple sensors they're ideal for surveillance in day or nighttime conditions and have been used by the Polish military since at least 2015 though surveillance focused Poland could jry rig these drones with bombs turning them into

kamakazi weapons in much the same way that Ukraine has used Many of its drones come April 2024 and Poland's National Ministry of defense was also calling for the increased dronation of the country's military noting that these unmanned systems offer a host of advantages at a relatively low cost a Ministry of Defense spokesperson said the ministry will intensify the Drone I ization process of the Polish military in specific areas of their use reconnaissance combat and support those plans are already underway as seen with The fly eye Acquisitions and the purchase of bayaar drones from Turkey back

in 2021 in September 2024 WB group also made a case for the development of long-range strike drones during the 2024 mspo defense industry show it also introduced its new warmate 20 which supposedly has a range of several hundred miles as well as the warmate 50 which the a company described as operational and capable of traveling even further than the warmate 20 there's No denying that Poland falls behind Russia in the Drone game that's partially a consequence of Putin's special military operation Russia has invested heavily in drones since Ukraine showed how effective these unmanned Vehicles can

be Poland is playing catchup but with its record-breaking budget it has the money to invest heavily into drones as it strengthens its border and UPS its active military numbers all of this is in the name of Preparation for Putin tin's forces and that brings us to another area into which Poland has invested substantially over the last few years heavy military equipment when Putin invaded Ukraine in February 2022 he did so knowing that Ukraine didn't have a huge amount of heavy equipment that it could use to fend off Russia's forces Russia had thousands more tanks artillery

systems rocket launchers and aerial assets that equipment discrepancy is the main reason Russia made such quick advances during the early weeks of the invasion getting within touching distance of taking keev before break Ukrainian resistance Fighters started pushing them back were it not for the constant military aid that's flown into Ukraine in the years since that initial Invasion attempt the country would likely have crumbled under Russia's pressure Poland has no intention of allowing Putin to launch an invasion similar to the one he attempted In Ukraine it's bolstering the number of Tanks rockets and howt say it

has available so it can hit Russia hard on the ground if it ever tries to cross over into polish territory among the many purchases the Polish military has made over the last couple of years are 28 8 South Korean chmu artillery rocket launchers these multiple launch systems are vehicle mounted and can be transported at speeds of up to 55.9 mph they're also versatile base units can Hold up to 20 130 mm k33 unguided Rockets each having a range of around 18.5 mil if Poland wants to pack more of a punch with its new missile systems

it can also use them to fire up to six 227 mm rockets for up to 27.9 Mi or a pair of 400 mm guided rockets that can travel up to 248 Mi the chanmo can even fire a 600 mm ballistic missile over a distance of 180 Mi these 288 rocket systems cost $5.8 billion and they'll be worth every penny to Poland because of their range And multiple firing options they're also just the start of Poland's military equipment spending June 2022 also saw Poland by 1,000 K2 tanks from South Korea with the first 180 of those

tanks arriving in warsa in December M of the same year each is a modern main battle tank crewed by three people and equipped with a 120 mm l55 smooth boo gun capable of rattling off 10 rounds per minute Auto detection and tracking systems are built into the tank along with thermal Imaging systems and laser range finders add powerful explosive reactive armor composite armor and nuclear biological and chemical Protection Systems into the mix and you get a tank that's far superior to most of the Soviet era tanks Russia has filled in Ukraine Poland is even getting

ready to manufacture these tanks inhouse with kak kamish saying that South Korea is committed to provide all technical information as soon as possible so that polish arms plants can Prepare for the production of K2 tanks in Poland more South Korean spending was confirmed in October 20124 when WB group announced a newly signed contract with South Korean firm Hana Aerospace to build a missile production facility in Poland this facility will be capable of manufacturing several thousand missiles for Poland's new chanmo rocket artillery PR launchers every year here we see signs of Poland making sure it doesn't

get caught in the same trap as Ukraine It's only now over 2 years into the war with Russia that Ukraine is getting to the point where it's capable of building its own drones and missiles Poland wants to be able to do that from the moment that Russia invades it's buying huge quantities of weapons in bulk and has clearly established solid relationships with South Korea's defense industry but it's also putting the appropriate measures in place to ensure it can build more and ramp up production quickly if Putin invades the purchases are just the tip of the

iceberg that extends far below the metaphorical ocean surface August 2024 saw Poland by 48 Patriot air defense missile batteries from the United States giving it six battalions of these powerful weapons Ukraine only has a handful of Patriots but it's proven time and again that the missiles the system fires are exceptional at taking out aerial threats add 644 Patriot missiles to Poland's spending Spree and the country will be far better equipped to deal with Russia's aerial threat than Ukraine and that's the point Ukraine has provided the rest of the world with plenty of lessons on how

to fight against Russia it's also shown the type of tactics Putin uses in a war and through trial and error combined with great strategy has demonstrated how to overcome Putin's meat grinder approach Poland has been paying attention if a Russian invasion comes it'll be so much Better equipped than Ukraine was to deal with the early stages after that it'll fortify while also relying on its NATO allies to combine with its military to decimate Putin's forces Poland has had enough of Putin there'll be no no repeat of the Ukraine war in Poland instead Putin will find

himself fighting a technologically advanced country that's guarding its borders preparing for all of his tricks and understands how to counter almost every single strategy the Russian president has but what do you think about Poland's preparations is the combination of spending on Military strengthening and enhanced border defenses enough to fend off Putin's invading forces would a Russian invasion of Poland trigger World War III due to Article 5 of the NATO treaty going into war isn't always a choice more often than not it's a necessity and even with NATO's support of Ukrainian Independence it seems like Putin

is leaving the US Less and less choice in the decision of whether or not to get more actively involved in the war in Ukraine but if the US had to suddenly engage in a full-scale war against Russia how would it Faire what plans is it making for such an eventuality one thing is for sure Putin had better buckle up the US Military keeps its M1 Abrams oiled up its tomahawks loaded and its Star Spangled Heroes capes nearby all year round it is always prepared and has kept A particularly close watch on the former Soviet Union

ever since the 1940s during the Cold War the West had it easy despite communist coups and the proxy wars the Americans and their NATO allies always knew exactly who the real threat was the foe pulling the strings behind the scenes if you will it was of course the Soviet Union for 45 years the West had prepared strategized and planned for the ultimate eventuality an allout military confrontation with the Soviet Superpower whether the Cold War conflict went hot by spiraling into the nuclear realm or if kinetic operations remained firmly moed in the familiar bounds of conventional

Warfare made little difference What mattered most was that the enemy and its intentions were clear knowing that is half the battle but what happened next changed everything the Soviet collapse in the early 1990s kickstarted three decades of self-discovery as the US spread its Wings as the world's sole superpower combating terrorists genocidal dictators and non-state tyrants became the order of the day NATO members drifted apart the alliance's mission and purpose suddenly cast into doubt then came a TW decade Forever War in the Middle East we we all know how that turned out after a decade of

strategic revision the US finally embarked on a wholesale pivot to Asia now hoping to contain a Chinese threat which had for decades grown Stronger almost in plain sight and then February 2022 happened Russia invaded Ukraine geopolitical Clarity it seemed was restored the aggressive Russian Bear whose foreign policy since the Soviet collapse had vacillated somewhere between bitter Western resentment and surprising Western reproach M showed its true colors America firmly committed to bolstering its presence in the Indo Pacific nevertheless seized the opportunity in Europe for years it had Been nursing its wounds trying to restore European Partnerships

and alliances which had slowly atrophied under the pressure of populist politics The Invasion recast these relationships in stone everyone in the Western World suddenly saw the reflection of their own histories in Ukraine's existential fight for its independence the US and its Western allies pledged Collective action sanctions hybrid Warfare material donations Refugee Support and military training everything short of entering the fight themselves this Western support Coalition has shown no signs of weakening now more than a year into the war if finland's recent accession to Nato says anything it has only grown stronger what is this all

leading to for the Americans who for a decade could not drum up the political Unity required to deal with Russian revisionism the Russian threat is credible once more the pivot to Asia Will continue a pace but now with Eastern European sovereignty under threat once more America must continue to do everything in its power to prepare it and its European allies for the ultimate eventuality a fullscale war with Russia we know you're probably laughing right about now war with Russia you're saying the same Russia that can barely make inroads against a country 20 8 times smaller

and with 100 million fewer people than itself the same Russia That has allegedly already suffered a qu million casualties in a single year of fighting more than the entire number of Russian soldiers killed in every war the Soviet Union and Russia fought since World War II combined well yeah that Russia as counterintuitive as it now seems Russia still poses a grave threat to Eurasian security and Western values the world over Western analyst s are contemplating a number of contingencies that could result from the war in Ukraine which fortunately for us all has thus far remained

contained to a single country the major one is the potentiality that Russia and its fuming dictator Vladimir Putin finally recognizing the futility of winning a long-term victory in Ukraine go absolutely Rogue Russia has all but burned its remaining Capital with the West politically Putin is a global Pariah economically Russia has been cut off from Western markets it's once Profitable natural gas left with virtually nowhere to go sanctions continue to cut into its ability to supply its military and civilian population with the specialized industrial and technological Parts it needs to function effectively militarily there's little evidence

the latest round of mobilization will provide the Tactical momentum Russia needs to win over the long term rather it's more likely that untrained Russian conscripts Or Mobic will continue to be fed into the meat grinder to little effect will Putin back down you can almost guarantee he won't he's already raised the stakes too high his people his propagandists at least expect too much of him he's paranoid he must deliver on his promises the ukrainians as long as they live and breathe will never accept the Russian occupation on any scale as a final recourse Putin still

has his nuclear umbrella something he knows the West Won't gamble on from our vantage point today it seems as though Putin's Russia if it continues its present course will almost have to go Rogue it won't end the war with a negotiated settlement unless something drastic changes but as attrition whittles down its once vaunted military power it will be forced to engage in its antibellum tactics only far more aggressively it will rely on asymmetric Warfare and hybrid operations to destabilize the West it will Increasingly act like a global version of now closest remaining Ally of consequence

Iran completely decoupled from the International Community pursuing a revanchist foreign policy using drones proxy wars missile strikes Espionage and more all while using its nuclear umbrella to deter Western retaliation nuclear threats will continue to grow in intensity cyber operations will increase in kind Putin will Target vulnerable pipelines and Transoceanic Fiber Optic Cables Russia will continue to fund and sponsor disinformation and misinformation campaigns Russian Bots named Peter and Frank will enter your feeds at election times in the hopes of trolling you into voting for their candidate of choice the blood letting in Ukraine will continue the

threat of escalation will remain omnipresent and that isn't good because as one Think Tank put it a rogue Russia still represents a geopolitical crisis Of the highest order it's a threat to Global Security Western political systems the cyers sphere space and food security not to mention every Ukrainian civilian let's be clear Ukraine has blunted if not outright neutered Russia's conventional military power over the past year that feat alone is remarkable but this war won't end anytime soon Russia remains a dangerous Foe and elsewhere especially outside Ukraine the bear can still bite make no Mistake so

where outside Ukraine UK could the us see itself fighting Russia and how would it do so one of the geopolitical Hotspots for a possible confrontation between Russia and the US is in a random chunk of territory wedged between Lithuania and Poland known as the kaliningrad exclave this sparsely populated patch of land is Russia's gateway to the Baltic a heavily defended former German port city seeded to the Soviets in the aftermath of World War II Kaliningrad's geography is tricky the port is liter natur Ally surrounded by NATO countries strategically it's an A2 a or anti- acccess

area denial nightmare for NATO home to thousands of Russian forces advanced fighter jets and nuclear capable escande M missiles the exclave is connected to bellarus by a narrow 40m land bridge known as the salki gap which itself cuts into the only two highways and lone railroad connecting Poland to NATO's exposed Baltic states since NATO Assets cannot Traverse the salki Gap without coming under the guns of Russia's military in kaliningrad the wide openen rural region is a crucial choke point that Russia would almost certainly exploit if it ever sought to cut off the baltics from NATO

finland's accession to Nato has caused tensions in this region to flare once more in a matter of 1 year NATO's border with Russia has doubled adding over 800 M of densely wooded difficult to patrol Tundra the Baltic Sea has come firmly under NATO's protection with kaliningrad the only Russian Outpost in an otherwise Western friendly sea of States Putin has had grievances against the West for years and nobody certainly not now should bother trying to predict his next move but prediction and preparation is the express job of America's military strategists where Putin to try to secure

the salki Gap to kaliningrad or gain a foothold in Finland Lithuania Estonia or Any of its past satellit the US and its allies must try to discern his Regional capabilities and prepare for an open conflict but what would this look like how does the Russian way of War differentiate from the American approach America is fortunate at least far more fortunate than Russia in this hypothetical its robust network of military alliances and Partnerships throughout Europe mean it would be far from alone in a war against Russia Before the war in Ukraine both Russia and NATO had

respected the terms of the 199 7 NATO Russia founding act committing both sides to avoid reinforcing or permanently stationing forces on the territories of the former warsa packed States or their neighboring Russian borders Russia abrogated itself from these terms when it invaded Ukraine now NATO has a clear pathway to bolster its presence in these critical areas using measured multinational deployments And the increased rotation of permanently based American troops the fact America's Force posture would be complemented by the presence of British polish Italian Spanish French Estonian lvan Lithuanian Finnish and many other Allied Partners speaks to

the logic of the American way of War which in the modern era has become multinational and collaborative to the core there is strength in numbers and resolve in Collective resilience these Force Multipliers are not something Russia could count on in a direct confrontation with nato in fact it can only really count on Direct Cooperative assistance from from Belarus and amid its attempts to keep out of the Ukraine war belarussian loyalty to Russia is an especially unproven commodity while Russia has struggled to coax Belarus to fight alongside it NATO's military personnel now exceeds 5.4 million four

times that of Russia according to Statista Nato also has about five times as many aircraft four times as many armored vehicles and three times as many military ships not to mention the backing of the world's biggest defense spender the US itself with 1.39 million troops alone and a defense budget of $801 billion in 2021 dwarfing second place China with a net spend of 293 billion and Russia who spent a poultry $ 65.9 billion that same year before Russia invaded Ukraine each year it Conducted massive multi-day military exercises demonstrating its military power NATO has done the

same ramping up its Collective exercises over the past year in response to Russian aggression while these exercises show little more than NATO's theoretical military Effectiveness the war in Ukraine has brought Russia into Stark relief and it has certainly been found wanting Russia is in the midst of a new military reform something its Ministry of Defense Announced at the end of 2022 most see this as little more than a haphazard attempt to patch a sinking ship they're trying to grow their modern military to the size it was over two decades ago but today there remains a

lack of specialists in charge of maintaining military equipment and vehicles as well as military infrastructure inherited from the USSR which no longer exists today additionally there were tens of thousands of auxiliary positions like Military Financial officers and army construction workers which have also ceased to exist in other words noted Russian military journalist and Military analyst pavl fanau the omal size of the Armed Forces cannot be increased in a realistic and meaningful way Russia lacks qualified Junior officers there's nobody to command the conscripts they're throwing into battle the army of 1.5 million soldiers Russia dreams of

is little more than a bureaucratic fantasy Still Russia is frantically trying to restore its depleted forces to the numbers it boasted prior to the invasion of Ukraine it isn't working its Armed Forces today are lacking in some areas of modern military technology including drone capability electronic components and radar and satellite reconnaissance fanau told the media yes we have weapons but our reconnaissance capabilities are weaker than our attack capabilities so we have a longrange sometimes Precision Guided weapon but we don't always know where the target is but what if Russia went into a full-scale war with

the West despite these obvious weaknesses let's say for the sake of argument that Putin goes Rogue he sees finland's NATO membership as the final straw he still doubts the way West will risk starting World War III and he is desperate for a quick victory in Europe he throws everything into the Ukrainian cauldron and it all goes wrong armed with Western Tanks and eventually aircraft Ukraine mounts a series of counter offensives that all but push back Russia to its own borders decisively defeated on the battlefield the enemies of Lucas shenk's pro-russian faction in bellarus stage a

coup and Ed the leader from power in the cascading crisis weathered Beller Russian volunteers which for years had fought in Ukraine return home and helped throw the Russians out of their Homeland Belarus thus switched sides leaving the Russian Garrison at kaliningrad entirely surrounded by enemy forces the salki Gap is no longer a concern for the west but it is for Russia over time Poland Lithuania and other NATO countries pressure the Russian Garrison to demilitarize morale sinks they are at the whims of NATO Naval forces in the Baltic Swedish missiles on the neighboring island of gotland

and all but block from their Homeland Putin decides the time is ripe to present NATO With a sort of Final Act he invades Belarus and hoping to regain a foothold in Eastern Europe Putin decides to test NATO's resolve launching an attack on the salki Gap and small villages along the Estonian lavian and Lithuanian borders he uses kaliningrad's escanda missiles and Naval missile Corvettes to cover his Advance with the bulk of its Reserve forces in Poland and Finland Putin's forces overwhelm the unprepared NATO multinational Garrison in Estonia Which is briefly forced into Retreat Russia immediately begins

reinforcing its positions bracing for the inevitable Counterattack as NATO triggers Article 5 NATO's tripwire strategy to place small forward presence Battalion siiz deployments in the Baltic to absorb a Russian invasion while it rushed its reserves to the front could not prevent Estonia from coming under Russian control lvia looks like it will hold but only just but once Estonia fell all of NATO's Baltic states supported by its European American and Canadian allies converged the West has War gamed this scenario over and over again and Russian units immediately feel pressure from NATO's response force and very high

Readiness Joint Task Force a multinational Brigade on a constant state of alert the initial surge into the baltics is Complicated by Russian missile attacks on roads Bridges and Railways the US and NATO respond by Establishing air superiority over Estonia at high risk to itself beginning with a massive Cyber attack and cruise missile strikes launched by a fleet of B-52s on Russian Sam sites that overwhelm their air defenses learning the lessons of the Ukraine war NATO targets Russia's vulnerable Logistics infrastructure supplying its forward Estonian presence Superior commercial satellites drone technology uavs electromagnetic capabilities and Next Generation

Precision guided Munitions fired by interoperable F-35 Fighters enable NATO forces to Target Railway hubs supplying Putin's war in a way the ukrainians never could once Russia gave up their air to Nato and the US it was essentially game over kaliningrad isolated and completely surrounded capitulates in a matter of days NATO continues to pour Manpower and material into Estonia at a rate unmatched by Russia its theater assets are better Maintained it has higher morale reinforced by a clear sense of mission It suffers fewer casualties a result of superior airlift capabilities and Hospital facilities it engages in

full spectrum multi-domain operations or the simultaneous attack from Sea Air land and cyberspace unleashing a single Symphony Of Violence to break down Advanced defenses it has been trained for years through it all NATO member countries shoulder a fair share of the Burden thus proving the NATO concept Russian morale breaks under a withering the clock assault the war is over in a matter of weeks Russian forces beat a hasty Retreat to Moscow and Putin's world comes crashing down as his people fired up after years of disappointment Global isolation Bloodshed and Military setbacks finally turn on him

sure it's all hypothetical and yes it's fair to claim that the West has struggled against forces far weaker than the Conventional peers they would face in the baltics over the past few decades a fair criticism but one equally applicable to nearly every country immersed in counterinsurgencies and irregular warfare it's hard to believe that Russia could ever succeed in an out andout Military confrontation against the West all on its own if the West applies the full weight of its Collective military capabilities on a clearly defined enemy the outcome for Putin would be very very bad indeed

his only recourse again would be to threaten the world with nuclear destruction would he really go that far it's January 2024 and general patri trick Sanders stands before an audience at the international armored vehicles exhibition in London however the general doesn't merely have vehicles on his mind a much bigger problem troubles him Russia during his speech Sanders stresses that the UK needs to achieve a mental shift Particularly when it comes to the British public and its Collective preparedness for war conscription still isn't on the table the general says but the country's Army as it stands

right now isn't strong enough he tells the audience that the UK needs to modernize and make even have to build a citizen Army that's ready for a land War he then delivers a chilling warning within the next 3 years it must be credible to talk of a British Army of 120,000 folding in Our reserve and strategic Force but this is not enough why will it not be enough again Russia Sanders's speech rattles a few cages at 10 Downing Street former prime minister Rishi sunak dismisses Sand's words saying that presenting hypothetical scenarios isn't helpful to anybody

that especially goes for the General's comments that the the Ukraine war has shown that it's not regular armies that win Wars It's citizen armies the UK should follow in Ukraine's Footsteps he argues or at the very least be mentally prepared to do so his message is clear the UK has no choice but to prepare for war with Russia and his statements lead to some questions why does the UK have to prepare and just how credible are s's claims assuming the general is correct how would the UK fair if it faced Russia Today and what if

anything is it doing to prepare for a war with one of of the world's largest militaries to begin answering those Questions we must first dive into the relationship between the UK and Russia both Nations have essentially been at peace since the end of the Crimean War and have been allies fighting alongside each other in two world wars given that somewhat friendly history how have relations between the two countries fractured to the point where the UK needs to be ready for war it all starts with the rise of Vladimir Putin Putin's rise to the Russian presidency

in 2000 Marked the end of The Cooperative relationship the UK enjoyed with Russia following the end of the Cold War that end didn't come immediately rather a series of events slowly transformed the relationship from one of coroporation into one of Confrontation perhaps starting with an Infamous incident the 2006 murder of Alexander lenko a former officer with the Federal Security Service or FSB Russia's replacement for the KGB Livin Yenko was a Russian spy Who had become critical of his country in 1999 lenko earned the fsb's a when he claimed that the agency had begun colluding with

the Russian mafia and was responsible for several apartment bombings in Russian cities that Russia then used to justify the cin War but perhaps more dangerous to Livin Yenko according to a 2016 report by the guardian was that he had a personal Vendetta against Putin when Putin became the director of FSB in 1998 2 years Before he ascended to the presidency Livin Yenko met with him to argue against the corruption he saw in the agency Putin listened to him make his case and did nothing creating Bad Blood between the two it's likely this in that prompted

lenko to leave FSB and flee to Britain in 2000 where it's believed he started working for the MI6 spy agency and developed associations with former chin leader akmed zakay and a Russian oligarch named Boris barzowski both Critics of the Kremlin both enemies of Vladimir Putin if those associations weren't bad enough lineno was also not shy about attacking Russia's president in July 2006 he wrote an explosive article in which he claimed Putin was a pedophile who had abused his position as the head of FSB in the late 1990s to destroy videotape evidence of himself having sex

with underage boys add to that further accusations that Putin was responsible for the October 2006 murder Of a Russian journalist named Anna poovaya and Lin Yenko had placed himself on Putin's Hit List it wouldn't be long before Putin enacted his revenge in November 2006 lineno was killed inside the UK through the use of a poison named polonium 210 which had been administered to a cup of tea the inquest that followed revealed that Livin Yenko was being paid by MI6 though the specific terms of his employment weren't revealed and that he had been targeted by Assassins

specifically the two men he met for that fateful cup of tea Andre Lugo and Demitri kton were accused of being The Men Who administered the poison however they weren't acting alone the inquest revealed that Putin likely green lit the order to kill Livin Yenko the assassination triggered a turning point in UK and Russian relations with the UK being incensed over the fact that Russia would kill somebody on British soil in addition Russia had been Uncooperative with the investigation and even refused to extradite one of the suspects several Russian diplomats were expelled from the country in

response to the killing along with the UK ending its intelligence cooperation with Russia and freezing some of its assets if nothing else the incident showed the UK that Putin was willing to violate the country's laws to get what he wanted Livin y enko's assassination wouldn't be the last time this happened in March 2018 a Russian double agent named sergy scrippal was poisoned in the UK a former officer with Russia's guu agency a military intelligence unit scrippal and his daughter were found slumped on a park bench 8 years after arriving in the UK as part of

a spy swap deal in 2010 both survived two Russian men Alexander Petrov and russan barov were accused of the crime and details soon emerged that demonstrated the covert nature of their attempted assassination scrippal was Poisoned using a russian-made military grade nerve agent with the poison having been applied through the squirt of a perfume bottle Russia denied all involvement it claimed that Rogue elements had somehow gained access to the nerve agent and had used it without the kremlin's knowledge Britain's then prime minister Theresa May gave Putin 24 hours to prove his claims which he failed to

do so in the eyes of the British government by March 2018 the UK Was saying that there was no alternative conclusion other than the Russian state was culpable for the attempted murder of sery and julus scrippal another attack on citizens inside the UK and yet another incident that further soured the relationship between Britain and Russia the guardian claimed in 2018 that the incident plunged the relationship between the countries to its lowest depths since the 1980s and the cruise missile crisis but those relations would Reach new depths in February 2022 on February 17th 2022 the UK

created new legislation that would give its ministers the power to impose fresh sanctions on Russia's businesses and oligarchs the decision came in the wake of growing tensions in Europe as Putin appeared to be gearing up to invade Ukraine about a week later Russian soldiers started a war that continues to rage to this day day the UK joined the rest of the western International Community in condemning the war and used its new powers to Levy sanctions it also began supplying Aid to Ukraine along with many other countries with Britain's contributions having reached $ 54.2 billion in

value as of July 2024 all of this backstory matters because it paints a picture of the two countries that have experienced continued fracturing of their relationship over the last 24 years through his assassination attempts Putin Has shown that he not only lacks respect for the UK and its laws but that he's willing to deploy agents into the country to get what he wants he has set a precedent Russia has operated in Britain before and it may well do so again only this time those operations would escalate into fullscale war assassinations secret plots and sanctions combined

do not create an atmosphere in which that war would occur it's what's happened since Russia Invaded Ukraine that has led the UK to the point where it needs to prepare take the repeated threats from Russia as an example in February 2024 Russia's former president Demitri Med commented on the concept of Russia returning to the borders it had in 1991 doing so would be untenable claimed medev who now serves as Russia's Security Council head as it would mean Russia would have to give up the territory it's taken in Ukraine as well as Crimea and cnia speaking

on Telegram a social media platform that's popular in Russia Medvedev issued a chilling threat attempts to return Russia to the borders of 1991 will lead to only one thing towards a global war with Western countries using the entire strategic arsenal of our state dev then claimed that any attempt to return to those borders would represent the West forcing a direct and irreversible collapse of Russia before he built on his strategic Arsenal comments threats Were levied against keev Washington Berlin and London with meddev claiming all four have long been included in the flight targets of our

nuclear Triad better to return everything to how Russia wants it demanded meev or Russia will return it themselves with maximum losses for the enemy the context here is simple Russia would be prepared to use nuclear weapons to strike Britain if the UK takes part in any concerted effort to force Russia to return to its old Borders suddenly General Sanders's comments about the need to be prepared are cast in a new light perhaps they're not a case of scaremongering but instead the statements of a man who has seen enough to know that Russia is a clear

threat Sanders sees the deterioration of the relationship between Russia and Britain with medvedev's nuclear threats only confirming that he's likely right to be worried speaking of those nuclear threats just what would Britain face if Russia pushed the nuclear button in 2023 The Arms Control Association or ACA estimated that Russia has a stockpile of 5,580 nuclear weapons about 1,200 of these have been retired meaning they're no longer in active stockpile and are awaiting dismantling of course given that they aren't dismantle yet those nukes could still be used if Russia felt the need however more worrying for

Britain are the 1,549 strategically deployed nuclear Warheads these are Warheads that are currently installed on ballistic missiles and ready to launch at a moment 's notice it's unknown how many of that 1,549 are directed at Britain however we do know that Russia easily has enough nuclear weapons to level the United Kingdom in October 2022 the uk-based Sky News ran a report in which it examined the threat that Russia's nuclear weapons pose General Sir Richard Barons a British defense expert is quoted when Commenting on Putin's decision to place his nuclear deterrent forces on high alert in

March 2022 speaking about Russia's weapons he claimed the Warhead at the front of it has a yield between 300 and 800 kilotons it would take just one of these nuclear weapons to destroy London Baron says the UK isn't helpless on the nuclear front the ACA highlights that it has 224 nukes of its own plus it's allied with France and the United States which are both NATO members and Nuclear states that would come to Britain's defense if it was attacked on its own soil but by that point it would be too late for Britain Russia has

more than enough nuclear weapons to destroy all of the UK's major cities of course these are far from the only nuclear threats that Russia has thrown around it has a long history of using the threat of nukes to try and get its way dating back to the Cold War era yet another nuclear threat albeit one made in Response to the possibility of Russia losing its current borders may not be enough to convince Britain that it needs to prepare for war but meddev is far from the only threat made by Russia to the UK during a

state visit to Ukraine in May 2024 former British foreign secretary David Cameron committed to delivering at least $3 billion in military aid annually to Ukraine for as long as it's required however that wasn't the headline from the visit Instead it was a single quote that made waves just as Russia is striking inside Ukraine you can quite understand why Ukraine feels the need to make sure it's defending itself the quote was taken as Cameron's indirect way of Permitting Ukraine to do something it had previously been unable to do use British provided weapons to attack Russia on

its own soil while Cameron's comments provided room for doubt further comments made by new British prime minister Kia Starma removed that doubt entirely speaking to Bloomberg journalists on July 9th 2024 starma claimed that it was up to Ukraine to decide how it would use British weapons including the long range Storm Shadow missiles the UK has been sending those missiles can travel for 155 miles far enough for Ukraine to launch them from within its own territory to strike at Russia behind the front lines of the war Russia was incensed in the wake of Cameron's Comments Moscow

summoned Britain's ambassador to Russia to the foreign Ministry to deliver a message any strikes made by Ukraine on Russian territory using weapons supplied by the UK would force retaliatory strikes on British military facilities both in Ukraine and elsewhere the implication is that elsewhere could mean on British soil yet another threat and yet another justification for General Sanders's comments that Britain needs to prepare The UK didn't backpedal on Cameron's statements in the wake of Russia's threats with st's July 2024 comments only adding fuel to the fire Russia argues that Britain is needlessly escalating tensions the UK's

refusal to back down means that the threat of war between the two countries is higher than ever however it's not just direct threats against Britain that could lead to the UK and Russia going to war it's Putin's threats against British allies In January 2024 the British government released a risk analysis that claimed there is a 1 in4 chance that Russia will launch an attack on a British Ally within the next 2 years that analysis came just days after General Sand's warnings and the government's shooting down of those warnings with the report describing Russia as an

adversary state throughout the report claimed that there was a 25% chance of Russia attacking a non-nato Ally such as Sweden of course Sweden has since become a member of NATO potentially reducing the possibility of such an attack but if it were to occur Britain would find itself going to war not because it was attacked directly but because it was bound to do so by Article 5 of the NATO convention the article essentially states that an attack on one NATO member's soil is treated as an attack on all members with those who aren't being attacked Duty

bound to come to the defense of the country that's Being targeted the message here is simple Russian aggression toward countries like Sweden Finland or the Baltic states of Lithuania Estonia and lvia could mean war between Britain and Russia NATO hasn't lowered these tensions if anything it's exacerbated them with the creation of operations steadfast Defender 2024 touted by NATO as the organization's largest military exercise since the Cold War the joint effort saw 9,000 troops from all of NATO's 32 members converge on Europe to conduct a host of military exercises between January and may 2024 the exercises

were split into two parts first the United troops would carry out a series of exercises focused on securing the Atlantic Ocean through to the Arctic Ocean from there groundbased troops would move across Europe traveling from the north of the continent through its Center and finally into Eastern Europe NATO's stated goal was simple demonstrate the organization's ability to defend every inch of its territory the message to Russia was also clear as NATO's exercise was designed to Showcase that its forces are ready and waiting to fight should Russia launch an attack on a NATO Ally the UK

was among the most heavily involved nations in operation steadfast Defender as it sent 16,000 troops a little under a fifth of the NATO total and reinforced its commitment To Collective defense once again we see an escalation of tensions Putin has repeatedly warned NATO Nations not to get involved in his war against Ukraine however Russia's continued aggression has prompted many NATO Nations including the UK to take stock of their defensive strategies in preparation for what some see as an inevitable War this Collective escalation could place the UK in a position where it has no choice but

to go to war with Russia to support other NATO members finally there's one more suggestion that the UK needs to gear up for war with Russia its own people think that war is inevitable that's according to a yugov poll conducted in February 2024 which quizzed Britains on whether or not they believe the country needed to get ready for a global conflict over half 53% believe that there will be another world war in the next 5 to 10 years with 15% claiming that such a war is very likely another 38% say that war Is somewhat likely

while a further 16% simply don't know one way or the other on the plus side 44% of those ped believe that the UK and its Western allies would Prevail in a war over Russia and its allies compared to just 133% who think Russia would win where does all of this leave the UK one of its leading generals claims that war is coming since 2000 Britain has seen its relationship with Russia deteriorate enormously to the point where the UK is Referring to Russia as an adversary state in official reports Moscow has levied threat after threat at

Britain in 2024 ranging from mentions of nuclear weapons to warnings of strikes on British military facilities and Equipment if Ukraine uses British weapons inside Russia NATO appears to be preparing for war having conducted one of the largest Cooperative exercises ever during the first half of 2024 and Britain would likely be a major part of That war and as ugab reveals most Britain's appear to side with General Sanders and his belief that the war is coming all of which brings us to another question is the UK ready to fight Russia the simple answer appears to be

no or at least it's not ready to fight Russia alone every year Global Firepower or gfp compiles a list of 145 countries with militaries ranking them based on over 60 factors to determine which is the strongest the United Kingdom performed Well in the 2024 version of this list achieving a ranking of sixth out of 145 the problem is that Russia came second and it overpower was the UK in practically every Department Russia has 1.32 million active military personnel compared to 184,000 18860 in the UK Russia also has over a million more Reserve Personnel though the

UK comes in with an impressive 924 th000 the UK's defense budget is about half of Russia's and its Air Force is far smaller with 664 aerial assets compared to Russia's 4,255 Russia has more tanks over 130,000 more armored vehicles and and crucially a Navy that contains 664 more assets than the UK's Royal Navy the last point is important Britain's Island status means that a conventional War would require Russia to attack via sea adding to all of this is the nuclear issue discussed earlier as Russia has enough nuclear weapons to decimate the UK If conventional Warfare

doesn't do the job General Sanders recognizes Britain's comparative weakness in July 2024 he warned that NATO and Britain by extension only had about 5 years to prepare for war with Russia honing in on Britain's defensive capabilities he praised the UK's ability to combat cyber threats as well as its ability to defend against Terror attacks but in a full-blown War it will be found wanting we have a huge gap in air defenses the general claims adding that Britain needs To ensure that its skies are protected with greater investment and that the undersea cables that we rely

on are protected from Russian sabotage in other words Britain needs to spend more on its military which brings us to the final key question posed in the video what is the UK UK doing to ensure it's ready for war with Russia we've already seen some examples for instance the UK taking part in operation steadfast Defender 2024 is a purposeful effort to reinforce its Defensive ties with dozens of other nations Cooperative defense will form the majority of the UK's strategy against Russia as it will lean on Article 5 of the NATO Charter to ensure that other

powerful Nations such as France Germany and the United States fight alongside it should Russia attack Britain on its own soil the UK has also been busy signing sec security Partnerships outside of NATO for instance 2017 s it sign a trilateral Submarine agreement that also involves the US and France with 2021 bringing with it a similar agreement between the UK the US and Australia though these agreements don't compel any of the signes to come to the others Aid in times of war the fact that they exist at all suggests that Britain will have plenty of allies

on which it could rely during a war with Russia of course allies alone won't win a war the UK needs to prepare internally it appears To be doing that by committing to the level of investment General Sanders believes is required in April 2024 chattam house reported that former prime minister Rishi sunk had pledged to continuously increase Britain's military spending until it reaches 2.5% of gross domestic product or GDP by 2030 that would put it above NATO's 2% of GDP guideline adding an extra £75 billion or 96 billion to Britain's defense budget over the next 6

years Britain's July 2024 general election initially cast this budget in out however the labor party under Kia starma has reiterated Britain's intention to hit a 2.5% of GDP Target meaning military spending has survived a changing government however these budgetary increases may not be enough The Institute of fiscal studies points out that the 75 billion pound pledge only works out if the UK intends to freeze its budget every year between 2024 and 30 in other words a large Amount of that money would have been accounted for within existing increases to UK defense spending which is already

at 2.3% % of GDP taking that existing commitment into account rising to 2.5% of GDP only adds 20 billion around $25 billion to the budget while still a large amount of money most of it will go toward plugging current funding gaps in Britain's military that means it's having to spend more to play catch up with Russia rather than spending to Strengthen a fighting force that was already capable of winning a war nevertheless the UK has been ordering and building more weapons since the outbreak of the Ukraine War December 2022 s spend almost $300 million on

thousands of Next Generation light anti-tank weapons or nlaws from Swedish manufacturer Sab nlaws can destroy a modern tank from a distance of up to 2,600 ft and would prove extremely effective in a ground war given Russia's Demonstrated Reliance on tanks in Ukraine a further $115 million was committed to buying l431 assault rifles which feature stronger Optical sighting systems than Britain's current rifles as well as a muzzle signature reduction system the UK Government website suggests that up to 10,000 of these rifles may be purchased between 2023 and 33 forces. net also reported that the UK is

investing in drones capable of firing bullets costing As little as 13 cents per round in May 2024 the point here is that the UK is spending the money it has intelligently it's seen Russia's extensive use of tanks in Ukraine and is investing in nlaws and drones due to the success Ukraine has enjoyed with both purchasing new rifles also means Britain's soldiers would like be better equipped than Russ's on the battlefield however it likely needs to spend more and faster if General s's prediction of a conflict Within 5 years is true right now Britain's Navy doesn't

match Russia in sheer size even given the fact that much of the Russian Navy is made up of Patrol boats and smaller warships its aerial forces as Sanders points out are also not at the level they need to be to establish aerial dominance against Russia help from its allies could bolster the UK but if it's to win against Russia it likely needs to do more that may mean an even greater Commitment to spending as well as increasing cooperation with its allies to ensure that Collective defense is really what it's touted to be if Russia's aggression

extends to Britain's Shores but what do you think does the UK really need to prepare for a war with Russia or is General Sanders focusing on a future that's unlikely to happen what else should Britain do to bolster its military all friendships are over those are the words of a Lithuanian citizen Named Darius when asked about what was happening between his country and the Russian exclave of linrad his comments come in the wake of what LRT or Lithuanian National radio and television calls more symbols of separation between the Baltic state and its russian-owned neighbor with

Darius going on to say that he had Russian friends when he was a child those friends even came to visit him in the panuna region which is just across a bridge from kaliningrad those Friends aren't visiting anymore and neither does Darius have any intention of crossing the bridge into kaliningrad the reason Russian President Vladimir Putin's acts of aggression in Ukraine threat threaten not only the sovereignty of Ukraine but also carry threats that Russia may attempt to take Lithuania if it's successful in its current War as for the symbols of Separation they're actually far from Mere

symbols their preparations for war that many in Lithuania believe is coming a war with kaliningrad but why is Lithuania gearing up to fight against the Russian exclave what does all of this have to do with the war in Ukraine and what might happen if Lithuania and cin ingr do end up fighting those are among the questions we'll answer in today's video but first we need to dig deeper into the fortifications that Lithuania has been putting in place to defend itself against Russia in truth those Fortifications have been cropping up throughout 2024 on February 20th 2024

Just a Touch under 2 years after Russia invaded Ukraine LRT reported that Lithuania was putting plans in place to fortify its borders with bellarus and kaliningrad their goal was to impede the movements of troops from two Nations it now considers its adversaries with the creation of around 20 counter Mobility Parks being hired on the agenda these parks are essentially small patches of Land that Lithuania intended to load with a host of defensive equipment including concertina wire coils reinforce concrete blocks and check hedgehogs which are anti-tank obstacles made using metal beams Lithuania wouldn't be the only

country taking these precautions LTI noted that the other two Baltic states lvia and Estonia had agreed to take similar measures to protect their borders to create what the outlet calls a common defense line Against Russia and its Beller Russian Ally at the time Lithuania didn't provide any details about where its counter Mobility parks would be though the country's Deputy defense minister zilvinas Tomos made special mention of the border with Belarus and what he called The kaliningrad Strip tomus also revealed that the government planned to spend 1.5% of its defense budget amounting to nearly $35.5 million

on equipment for its counter Mobility parks In 2024 fast forward to the end of July 2024 and we saw more examples of Lithuania preparing its border defenses LRT reported that Lithuania had started to bolster its border defenses not only with the barriers mentioned in February but also by building trenches and laying down minefields in preparation for a possible Invasion from both East and West kaliningrad was a particular Focus lithuania's border with the Russian exclave is already dotted with bunkers Built during World War II which were built by the Soviet Union just months before Nazi Germany

invaded Russia those bunkers make up a portion of the molotov line which stretches from the Baltic states to the Black Sea and Lithuania a for Soviet country has 300 of those bunkers alone granted the Soviet Union never equipped them with weapons or proper defenses however this means that in addition to its counter Mobility Parks Lithuania has a series of Ready-made fortifications waiting for it to use many of these bunkers now sit disused owned by whoever happens to own the land on which they sit and the majority sit in what's called The salki Gap a 43m

stretch of land connecting Lithuania to Poland and flanked by kaliningrad and bellarus Russia regularly threatens to seize or cut off lithuania's access to this Gap so the odds are high that the Baltic state is going to look to revitalize these Bunkers to reinforce its border defenses against kaliningrad all of this brings us back to September 2024 and darius's comments about Lithuania and kaliningrad no longer being friends he made his comments while standing before the queen Lou Bridge which stretches over the nunus river to link Lithuania and kaliningrad while looking at the counter Mobility measures Lithuania

has installed on it to prevent hostile vehicles from driving from kaliningrad Into the Baltic state that bridge will eventually become home to seven Czech hedgehogs along with concertina wire and 80 Dragon's Teeth which are pointy pyramid like obstacles made using concrete and rebar that are laid along a road to prevent tanks from crossing over more barriers could be built next to the bridge LRT speculates with various shaes and Fords along the Nunes river that Russian troops could use to cross into Lithuania having already been identified The formation of obstacle courses at each of these locations

would provide further border defenses claims the Lithuanian Armed Force forces with each obstacle slowing Russian troops and making them targets for Lithuanian soldiers but some other regions near kaliningrad are also on the Lithuanian agenda the country's chief of Defense staff Major General rigus Bel trinus says that various parts of lithuania's border with kaliningrad run over land Meaning they'll require different defenses than those deployed on the queen Louis Bridge there's also the coronian spit a 61 m sand dune that separates the Baltic Sea from the coronian Lagoon that needs to be considered the coronian spit is

a slightly different water obstacle says Bel trus when comparing it to the queen Louise Bridge it has different access and planning Bel trus claims that lithuania's goal is to confront each Potential crossing point from kaliningrad differently based on the terrain though all with the goal of enabling these installations to come together to form a single defense plan it all adds up to a massive series of Border defenses costing tens of millions of dollars that are designed to protect Lithuania from Invasion via kaliningrad the next question is simple why there are several reasons with the first

having already been touched upon Putin's Threats Russia's rhetoric around the salky Gap is far from the first threat it's levied against Lithuania with the Baltic states Ardent support of Ukraine during the war having prompted several more from the Kremlin for instance December 2023 saw Belgium's chief of Defense Michael Hoffman describe both Russia's switch to a war economy in the wake of the Ukraine war and what this might mean for the Baltic states the language used by the Kremlin and by President Vladimir Putin is always ambiguous it's possible that they might open a second front at

some point in the future in mova or in the Baltic states he claimed there are several instances of this type of language throughout the Ukraine war for instance April 2022 saw the guardian report that Putin had warned of the possibility of Russia turning nuclear weapons on the Baltic region if Sweden or Finland join NATO Putin said that he would send nukes to Kaliningrad if that happened though Lithuanian defense minister avidas anaus was quick to point out that Russia already had nuclear weapons in kaliningrad even though that claim hadn't been independently verified Sweden and Finland have

both joined NATO since these threats were made and there's been no nuclear follow through by Putin fast forward to February 2024 and Putin was making more nuclear threats again aimed at the Baltic States During his annual state of the nation address this time Putin referred to reports that several NATO countries including Lithuania were considering putting troops on the ground in Ukraine all this really threatens a conflict with the use of nuclear weapons and the destruction of civilization don't they get that claimed during the address as of May 2024 Lithuania remained open to sending its soldiers

into Ukraine if it felt the need come September 2024 Putin Is again making threats this time he's telling Ukraine's Western allies that war may come if they allow Ukraine to use their long-range missiles inside Russia this will mean that NATO countries the United States and European countries are fighting Russia he claimed in what Politico dubbed a final bid to scare off Western nations from allowing the use of these missiles while not Direct at Lithuania specifically this time the threats still add to the pile After all a Russian war with NATO means a war with Lithuania

given that the Baltic state is a NATO member there is a clear pattern of intimidation at play here albeit one that's yet to see Putin follow through on any of his threats the Russian leader believes that he can use intimidation to Coral countries like Lithuania into doing his bidding or at the very least force them to stay out of his special military operation but all he's really succeeded in doing is Convincing Lithuania that it's going to be a Target of Russian aggression which is one of the reasons we're now seeing it setup sweeping border defenses

near kaliningrad even before building its border defenses Lithuania was responding to Putin's threats by standing up and becoming one of Ukraine's biggest supporters in March 2023 the conversation wrote that Lithuania was essentially spearheading both NATO's and the European unions or the eu's efforts To face up to Russia frankly the country has a long history of being brave in the face of adversity the article argues it adopted the slogan Lithuania a brave country in 2008 and has lived up to that Monica by directly opposing Russia and bellarus at various points since in August 2020 Lithuania welcomed

Sana sienos skaya following belarus's fraudulent presidential elections essentially protecting her from retaliation by Bellar Russian dictator Alexander lucenko the country has also been quick to welcome Ukrainian refugees has provided funds to Ukraine's military and even seen its russian-speaking citizens phone Russian people to provide information about what's happening in Ukraine Lithuania was also one of the first to adopt a resolution calling on the United Nations to establish a noly Zone over Ukraine following Putin's Invasion and it expelled Russia's ambassador from its capital city of vnas In April 2022 simply put Lithuania has been a political thorn

in Putin's side for a long time that's why the country takes the threats Putin spews more seriously than many other nations it believes it understands the length of Putin's aggressive ambition and it aims to protect itself against a potential Invasion that may come come as much in retaliation for its support of Ukraine as it may due to Putin's spats with NATO and the rest of the West some might even Argue that Putin is already at war with Lithuania he's just not waging that war in the traditional sense shortly after the beginning of the Ukraine war

Putin put his cyber attacking teams to work to try and destabilize lithuania's internal mechanisms one such attack came toward the end of June 2022 albeit with the caveat of the claims by the group that conducted the attack that they weren't connected to Putin's government that seems hard to believe though given the Attacks came just days after Lithuania had blocked Russian Passage through the country thus preventing it from reaching kaliningrad by land the attacks targeted Lithuanian media and transport websites as well as sites owned by the country's Tax Service and similar State institutions the tax service

even had to pause operations for a period as the attack Al but took out its website the penetrator was a Russian group called killet which claimed on its telegram Channel that the attack was due to Lithuania blocking access to kaliningrad not state sponsored perhaps but certainly state influenced with Kil net clearly acting in the best interests of the Kremlin even if it claims no associations the Ukraine war has been marked by similar attacks ever since fast forward to February 3rd 2024 and a pro-russian hacking group was at it again this time the target was ilas

which is the Lithuanian Armed Forces Distance learning system the hackers this time operating under the name just evil claimed to have hacked not only Lithuania but the rest of the Baltic states and the US Lithuania essentially confirmed the hack noting that it attracted suspicous vicious log to ilas and for this reason three servers of the state telecommunication Center hosting the ilas training system have been disabled it appears no data was leaked in this attack but it's likely no Coincidence that the attack came just a couple of weeks before Lithuania announced its plans to shore up

its borders with Belarus and kaliningrad you also have to wonder why just evil would Target a Lithuanian army training system is it just hitting any Target it can find or is it trying to get information on how Lithuania trains its Armed Forces so that Russia and Putin will know what it will be up against when fighting erupts between Lithuania and kaliningrad Those questions have yet to be answered but what is clear is that pro-russian groups whether they're directly associated with the Kremlin or not are carrying out attacks that benefit Putin's Ambitions the Russian president may

not have overseen these cyber attacks directly but it's difficult to see how he wouldn't benefit from them as they're part of a concerted campaign to destabilize and intimidate Lithuania speaking of intimidation we come to Another reason why Lithuania is preparing for war with kaliningrad Russia appears to be boosting kaliningrad's military presence in late August 2024 several weeks into Ukraine's Cur Invasion Microsoft's start reported on Russia's continued attempts to control the Baltic Sea and the entire region specifically it noted that rundas vik soras who serves Lithuania as its minister of National Defense had claimed to have

seen a buildup of military Activity in kaliningrad interestingly these military actions may not be what you expect vik sorras says that Lithuania has noted several troop movements since the beginning of the war starting with soldiers previously stationed in kaliningrad being transferred to various areas in Ukraine to wage Putin's War however the minister of National Defense said most of those soldiers returned to kaliningrad after their Ukraine war rotation granted their Had been a significant reduction in these Ground Forces likely due to Deaths experienced on the Ukrainian front lines but the fact that they have returned Sparks

concerns for Lithuania even with ground troop reductions VI sorris points out that Lithuania can't become complacent he claims that the region still contains several a2ad air defense systems allowing kaliningrad to control the airspace over the Baltic Sea if needed there's also the missile problem To consider CNA which conducts National Security analyses claims that Russia operates a Baltic Fleet of Warships that's 52 vessels strong with four of those ships being strauchi class Corvettes armed with cruise missiles many of the ships in this Fleet dock in kaliningrad the ablast may also have an extensive collection of land-based

missiles which include anti- ship weapons like the Onyx p800 with a range of up to 210 nautical miles add several Dozens of Russia's isander nuclear capable ballistic missiles into the mix Each of which has a range of 300 miles and can easily reach anywhere in Lithuania from kaliningrad and you have plenty of reasons for Lithuania to be concerned finally there's the history between Lithuania and Russia to consider after all Lithuania was once part of the Soviet Union after a brief period of Independence that began in November 1918 in the aftermath of World War I Lithuania

faced an almost immediate threat from the Soviet Army Russia invaded in January 1919 with the Red Army occupying vnas to oversee the installation of a new Soviet government Lithuania fought back to the point where it had push the Soviets out by the midpoint of that year but the threat was clear the Soviet Union wanted to own Lithuania the next 20 years saw the Baltic State join the League of Nations and attempt to establish its official Borders unfortunately for Lithuania World War II came along in 1939 as did the secret Protocols of the German Soviet non-aggression

pact signed between Germany and the Soviet Union in August 1939 originally the pcta would have seen Lithuania fall under German control following the war with Hitler actively cting the country to join in on his attack on Poland Lithuania instead opted to remain neutral forcing a revision to The Pact that would instead See it fall under Soviet rule if Germany won the war Lithuania had no idea this pact existed and it didn't really matter the Soviet Union made its intentions clear in October 1939 when it forced the Lithuanian government to accept a treaty of mutual assistance

essentially Paving the way for Soviet influence to creep into the country by June 1940 Moscow was demanding that Lithuania install a friendly government while allowing the Soviet Union to admit an unlimited Number of troops into the country constitutional violations followed the Soviet Union managed to take control of staged elections and on July 21st 1940 lithuania's newly installed Soviet approved government was requesting that the country be incorporated into to the Soviet Union Moscow happily accepted its own request to take control of Lithuania there were hiccups the peace between Germany and the Soviet Union didn't last with

Germany successfully overrunning Lithuania in mid1 1941 not long after Germany launched its attacks against the Soviet Union the German occupation led to the massive extermination of lithuania's Jewish Community leading to the country losing 250,000 the Soviets then retook control toward the end of 1944 organizing its own sweeping deportations with 70,000 lithuanians being displaced in 1947 followed by another 70,000 in May 1948 and some 80,000 in 1949 it would not be Until the fall of the Soviet Union that Lithuania would regain its independence with the country holding its first post Soviet elections in 1992 the point

here is that Lithuania knows all too well what it means to be an unwilling subject of Russian Rule and given that Putin has indicated that the restoration of the old Russian Empire is one of his key goals and a large part of the reason for his special military operation in Ukraine it's no surprise that Lithuania Is concerned Putin would see it as a part of that Empire especially given the old Soviet ties providing yet more reason for Lithuania to be Shoring up its defenses against a possible Invasion via kaliningrad in truth Lithuania has been trying

to separate itself from any aspect of Russian influence for years we've already seen several examples in this video including its barring of Russian land access to kaliningrad and its steadfast support of Ukraine both Actions are part of a concerted effort to Dr russify the country April 2023 saw Lithuania pass a series of amendments that tighten the sanctions it had already implemented on Russian and Bellar Russian citizens in the country the new bill made it impossible for Russians to apply for citizenship or buy real estate in Lithuania for a year in addition to suspending applications for

temporary residence permits the measures were extended in 2024 and came imits Lithuania having received 75,000 Ukrainian refugees since the start of Putin's special military operation the message is clear Lithuania doesn't want any Russian influence in its country that message was reinforced in May 2024 when the country banned Russian and Bellar Russian observers from monitoring its presidential elections stating that both countries merely wanted to spearhead campaigns that pose a threat to our national security the Move was a big departure from the convention as Lithuania is a member of the organization for security and cooperation in Europe

or ocse which typically sends teams made up of observers for multiple Nations Russia and Belarus included to ensure the legitimacy of Elections Lithuania extended an invite to ocse members except the aggressor Russia and its supporter bellarus claiming both were threats to lithuania's entire political Model further de russification came in June 2024 when Lithuania extended its law on the provision of information to the public which bans the online distribution and retransmission of Russian and belarussian television and radio programs again Russia's ongoing military campaign in Ukraine was given as the reason likely with a healthy side helping

of Lithuania uring the country couldn't do anything to influence its decisions to defend itself from a Possible Russian invasion all of which brings us back to kaliningrad Lithuania has a historical precedent that shows why Russia is likely interested in invading its territory and it's taken note of the Russian military buildup in kaliningrad and the threat it could POS now we come to an important question how do the militaries in Lithuania and kaliningrad compare we can determine the strength of lithuania's military with the help of Global Firepower or gfp Which ranks 145 military Nations annually gfp

says that Lithuania ranks 88th out of the 145 Nations placing it close to the midpoint of the rankings it only has 23,000 active military personnel though these numbers are bolstered by the 104,000 reservists who are the result of the country putting mandatory military service in place for all men aged between 18 and 23 it also has a drafting system in place that applies to all men between 18 and 26 Meaning that any war with kaliningrad would likely spark a mobilization that sees lithuania's active military swell in numbers to the tune of several tens of thousands

the country also has 14,150 people serving in its paramilitary forces which aren't official parts of lithuania's military but would likely fight alongside it to repel Russian soldiers from kaliningrad the problems for Lithuania come from its lack of equipment its Air Force has only Nine assets almost all of which are fixed wi transports with a further four helicopters its Navy isn't much better featuring just 11 vessels including four Patrol vessels and four Mine Warfare ships practically no competition for the powerful Russian Baltic Fleet mentioned earlier lithuania's land forces far A little better though the country's troops

have no access to tanks they do have 1,356 vehicles along with 54 units of Towed artillery and 21 self-propelled artillery units nevertheless Lithuania is far from a military power which offers another reason why it's working so hard to secure its border with kaliningrad a good early defense will help it to mobilize while slowing Russia's forces down as for kaliningrad it's difficult to get clear numbers the hill says that Russia was estimated to be keeping 30,000 soldiers in kaliningrad before the war roughly Matching what Lithuania has available but many of these soldiers have been moved around

during the special military operation several thousand of those troops have also been sent into KK to defend against the recent Ukrainian incursion meaning kaliningrad may actually have fewer soldiers than Lithuania at the time of writing where the ablast comes out on top is in the equipment race we've already mentioned the presence of the Baltic Fleet and the Huge numbers of missiles believed to be stored in kaliningrad it's also known that Russia at least sends combat aircraft into the exclave if not actively storing them there February 2023 saw a team of Dutch f-35s intercept several of

these craft within polish airspace with a similar incident occurring in April of the same year that saw UK and German typhoon Fighters intercepting Russian craft over the Baltic region there are a few definite Numbers still it's safe to assume that with its combination of missiles aircraft and the Baltic Fleet cining grab would hold advantages over Lithuania both aerially and at Sea as for tanks the numbers are again uncertain though the Russian military analysis blog claimed in March 2021 that kaliningrad has almost 190 tanks most falling under the command of the 11th Army Corps so kaliningrad

has the advantage in ground equipment too though Lithuania's border defenses may make it difficult for kaliningrad to make that Advantage count the odds are that kaliningrad would win if it were to face Lithuania alone the problem for Russia is that alone isn't going to happen there's one huge factor that could prevent Putin from launching an invasion of Lithuania via kaliningrad lithuania's NATO membership it along with the rest of the Baltic states is protected by Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty Which Duty binds all of NATO's members to come to the aid of any NATO

Ally if it's the victim of an armed attack it's an all for one and one for all approach that would see all of those other 31 members of The Alliance come to lithuania's Aid if kaliningrad is attacked those allies include much of Europe including military powerhouses like France Poland and the United Kingdom and of course the US is a NATO member meaning a Russian invasion of Lithuania via kaliningrad would be tantamount to Putin declaring war on his greatest foe after all the main reason for Ukraine's allies having only provided military funding without sending soldiers is

because Ukraine isn't part of NATO Li ithuania is a different Prospect for Putin if he's hellbent on returning Russia to its Empire days he has to accept that this would mean declaring war on NATO Nations thus incurring the collective Wrath of a Host of other countries the final question is simple would Putin still send troops from kaliningrad into Lithuania the Baltic states certainly believes it's a possibility there's enough military equipment in krad to present serious problems for the Lithuanian military which is why the country is investing so heavily in its border defenses Putin has also

made plenty of threats about war with NATO during the Ukraine war suggesting that This is at least a possibility for which Russia's leader is preparing if nothing else Lithuania is determined not to be caught unaware if kaliningrad invades Lithuania is going to be ready to fight back but the war would likely be the first conflict in a much wider war that engulfs the rest of Europe and possibly the entire world but what do you think is Lithuania right to be wary of a potential Russian attack via kaliningrad or is Putin at least smart enough to

Know that such an act would essent be a declaration of war against all of NATO Russia is on the ropes its forces are taking heavy losses with hundreds of soldiers being wiped out daily the war in Ukraine has dragged on far longer than the Kremlin ever expected and now Russian President Vladimir Putin is running out of options so in a desperate move it appears that Russia has turned to an unlikely and controversial Ally North Korea but not for weapons and Ammunition which Pyongyang has already been accused of supplying to Moscow This Time It's Different far

more more serious reports suggest North Korean soldiers may be sent to the front lines real boots on the ground an alliance that marks a dangerous new chapter in this war it's a move that begs the question if North Korea is willing to throw its weight behind Russia what does that mean for the war in Ukraine and more importantly will this prompt NATO The world's most powerful military Alliance to step up and fight directly for Ukraine in this video we'll break down this Alliance and what it means for the war and how it could force NATO

to consider its role in Ukraine because at this point it's not just about Ukraine anymore it's about the future of global conflict before diving into any scenarios let's look at the basics after all you can't understand the full picture without First Learning what's Going on with North Korea's involvement in other words we need the facts before we can face the consequences so let's start with what we know we know that the reports on North Korean involvement in the war in Ukraine are stacking up and they're hard to ignore Ukrainian Military Intelligence Ukrainian government organizations South

Kore Korean intelligence and Western media they're all saying the same thing North Korean troops are entering the war on Russia's side however all these sources can't seem to agree on one thing just how many North Korean soldiers are actually involved a Ukrainian Military Intelligence Source revealed to the BBC that Russia is forming a unit of 3,000 North Korean soldiers keev believes that this unit might be preparing in anulan UDA close to the Mongolian border at the same time a military Source from Russia's Far East confirms that the North Koreans have already arrived at a Base

near oisk north of Vladivostok but stresses that the numbers are absolutely nowhere near 3,000 however this Source refused to specify how many soldiers were actually present in the Far East this leads us to the reports from South Korea's national intelligence service or NIS for short which claims that 1,500 soldiers have already been shipped to Russia these soldiers reportedly arrived between October 8th and 13th 2024 transported on seven Russian ships to Vladivostok but they didn't come alone reports also suggest they brought uniform Ms weapons and even forged Russian identification documents however the NIS claims that this

is only the first wave of soldiers according to the agency more North Koreans will follow potentially swelling their numbers to a staggering 12,000 soldiers that's a number large enough to make a real impact although the figure hasn't been officially confirmed it signals just How Deeply North Korea is getting involved in the war in Ukraine as for where these Soldiers aheading the North Korean unit from anulan UDA is expected to be deployed to Russia's KK Province the same area where Ukrainian forces launched an incursion back in August their role may be to guard sections of the

Russo Ukrainian borders freeing up Russian units for more direct fighting elsewhere but don't expect the North Korean soldiers on the front lines just Yet experts like the editor of Ukrainian publication defense Express Valerie rabic believes that these troops will be used in more supportive roles at first but even if they're not sent immediately into combat their very presence allows Russia to shift more of its own forces into offensive positions now you might think all of this evidence sounds pretty speculative where's the hard proof well what about video proof undoubtedly the most striking evidence of North

Korean Involvement comes from video footage shared with CNN by the Ukrainian Center for strategic Communication in this clip North Korean soldiers are seen queuing at a Russian training ground receiving uniforms and equipment although their conversations can't be fully understood due to low audio quality they do appear to be speaking Korean and this is only one video another one geolocated by CNN shows North Korean troops arriving at The Saga training ground close to Russia's border with China a Russian speaker can be overheard saying we can't film them followed by there are millions of them here this

is just the beginning while Millions is clearly an exaggeration these words underscore the scale of this development as well as the secrecy surrounding it CNN also shared a copy of the questionnaire the North Korean recruits were asked to fill out upon arriving in Russia providing their sizing for hats headgear uniforms and Shoes the top of this questionnaire is written in Russian while the various size options are written in Korean this indicates that the North Korean aren't just being integrated they're being outfitted for their new role the questionnaire and the two videos also back up reports

from the NIS which claim that the soldiers are being equipped and trained for deployment to Ukraine according to the NIS the North Korean soldiers currently stationed at military Bases in Vladivostok orisk karov and bovens will only be sent to combat zones once they finish their training common courtesy that hasn't been given to many Russian Nationals who have been thrown into the fight with minimal preparation undertrained and underere equipped but given who these North Korean troops reportedly are special treatment shouldn't come as a surprise you see the NIS reports that the unit sent to Russia were

personally inspected by Kim Jong-un Himself before deployment an indication that these soldiers could be among North Korea's Elite forces given the country's distrust of conscripts who might be prone to defect it's likely that special operations soldiers are involved in Ukraine as they are highly trained and more importantly highly loyal now Special Forces might sound intimidating right off the bat the of elite troops you wouldn't want to face on the battlefield you might Envision the likes Of the US Navy Seals the British SAS or even Russia's own spetznaz elite units known for precision deadly tactics and

cuttingedge training but let's not get ahead of ourselves this is North Korea we're talking about a country notorious for its outdated equipment unreliable tactics and a military more skilled in Grand parades than modern warfare sure they're loyal maybe to a fault but when it comes to Battlefield prowess they're hardly in the same league as the world's Top Special Forces so what exactly can Ukraine expect from these North Korean forces sent to oppose it well these Personnel reportedly sent to Vladivostok have been sourced from the estimated 200,000 strong ranks of the Special Operations forces the sof

primarily tasked with probing and testing South Korea's defenses now this number alone will probably raise some eyebrows why because the world's truly elite special forces count their ranks In the hundreds not the hundreds of thousands the seals about 2,500 active duty members the British SAS 400 to 500 Elite operatives even Russia's spats as Infamous as they are doesn't come anywhere close to that sixf figure claim so either Kim is redefining what it means to be special or we're dealing with an inflated sense of military Grandeur Ahmed Hassan CEO of gray Dynamics a london-based intelligence firm

puts things in perspective the North Korean sof may be special by their own standards but that's hardly a badge of honor when measured against NATO or Russian criteria if there's a ranking between 1 and 10 says let's say one is a basic Soldier and 10 is Delta Force or the SAS then the enk force sits at a solid five essentially they're the middle tier performers of the Special Forces World if we're generous that is the only area where the sof truly ranks at the top is secrecy without a doubt This is one of the most

secretive military units in the world which shouldn't be surprising given its country of origin for the most part the sof is an enigma to Western Powers loyal and highly trained yet lacking the advanced military equipment seen in NATO forces the has a colorful history too founded in 1968 they gained notoriety after a disastrous raid on the blue house South Korea's presidential residents which resulted in the death of 26 out of 31 operatives involved given that their introduction to the world was an outright disaster it shouldn't be surprising that not much else is known about any

of their follow-up exploits there have been reports that the sof has been deployed to Syria to support Bashar al-assad's regime however there's also speculation that these troops were merely North Korean mercenaries further muddying the waters of their true capabilities what we do know for sure is That they participated in a rare public event in 2017 proudly marching alongside regular army soldiers because nothing says elite special forces quite like a synchronized March the same year North Korean State media showcased soff troops adorned in Black camouflage paint and dark sunglasses wielding what was described as a new

rifle fitted with a grenade launcher yet several reports pointed out their uniforms bore a striking resemblance to those worn by South Korean Special Forces known as the black berries perhaps South Korea should take solace in the adage that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery even the few details we do know about the sof are enough to pose a question will their presence really change the tide of battle or are they just another set of boots on the ground for Russia that will struggle given the challenges they'll face in Ukraine the second option seems far

more likely whether the North Korean Soldiers fighting for Russia are truly special forces or regular troops one thing's for sure their integration will be an uphill battle for but as there's the language barrier North Korean soldiers aren't just non-native speakers of Russian they're entirely non-russian speaking this poses a significant problem in the chaos of battle where communication is critical integrating thousands of North Koreans into Russian military units isn't as simple as adding More manpower to the ranks one analyst pointed out the difficulties Russia faced when trying to incorporate hundreds of prisoners into their forces and

those guys spoke Russian now imagine the added layer of complexity when the troops on the ground don't even share a common language moreover the Eastern front in Ukraine has morphed into a war of attrition a brutal meat grinder where traditional cot operations and Special Forces tactics might be rendered Ineffective with the current state of affairs the real question becomes what exactly will these North Korean troops be doing on the battlefield without a clear role they risk becoming an additional liability rather than a valuable asset another daunting challenge is the lack of recent combat experience among

North Korean forces while the country boasts an impressive active military of around 1.28 Mill the fourth strongest in the world most of These soldiers have not been engaged in any significant combat operations in years unlike Russia's military which For Better or Worse has been actively involved in conflicts North Korean troops are largely known for their engineering and construction skills the war in Ukraine could very well Mark their first foray into International conflict and entering such a high stakes environment without proper experience could spell disaster there's also the Issue of tactics North Korea's military structure follows

the old Soviet model which raises questions about how well its motorized infantry units could adapt to the realities of Modern Warfare the traditional tactics may not translate well in a battle defined by rapid Maneuvers technology and adaptability and let's not forget about the risk of exposing North Koreans to life in the west if these soldiers find themselves in a situation where they can see how The other half lives particularly when compared to the Stark realities of their home country defections could become a serious issue even with these so-called Elite forces that's why Bruce W Bennett

a senior International defense researcher at Rand an American Research Institute has called on the us to start information campaigns aimed at convincing North Korean soldiers sent to Russia to defect this just leaves us with one more question before discussing What the presence of these troops means for the war in Ukraine why did North Korea send troops in the first place well for starters Putin is in desperate need of Manpower after 2 and a half years of war Russia has suffered unbelievable losses reports from the general staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces indicate the country has lost

600 78,500 troops since February 2022 with that severe blow to his ranks what does Putin see as a solution bring in the North Koreans to do some of the fighting it's a desperate gamble but that's where Russia finds itself backed into a corner and scrambling for any allies it can get but there's more to it Russia might not be reaching for foreign troops if any of its latest mandatory mobilization efforts have been successful Valerie akimenko from the UK's conflict studies Research Center argues that deploying North Korean soers might be Putin's way of dealing with the

Fallout of that Failed mobilization the Russian military has faced public push back and many conscripts have simply refuse to fight so if you can't convince your own citizens to risk their lives why not Outsource the job but why would North Korea agree to help under these circumstances while it turns out that Moscow and pongyang have a lot in common most importantly both are Paras in the west pushing them to deepen their ties in recent months Kim even referred to Putin as his closest comrade while wishing the Russian president a happy 72nd birthday on October 8th

however for the two countries it's not just about diplomatic niceties it's about survival in a hostile global environment but let's not kid ourselves this burgeoning relationship is driven solely by shared incentives as mentioned Moscow desperately needs soldiers and Pyongyang money and Technology it's a classic case of you scratch my back I'll scratch Yours North Korea is Cash strapped and isolated and the prospect of receiving aid from Russia is too in to ignore not to mention the country could substantially benefit from access to Russian military technology something Moscow would typically be hesitant to share Kim wants

his country recognized as a nuclear State a little Russian Tech could go a long way toward that goal plus being involved in an active conflict gives North Korea a chance to Demonstrate its military capabilities on a global stage a dream for any nation seeking legitimacy but beyond the theatrics the arrangement between Russia and North Korea provides North Korean Sol soers with something they sorely lack real Combat experience now on the one hand this can be a major challenge for these troops as we already mentioned but on the other hand they can see it as a

chance to finally get a taste of battle after years of isolation from Actual Warfare this can be a huge deal for a military whose Personnel have largely been trained for parades and posturing rather than practical combat situations if they do manage to make it back to North Korea they all come back with valuable insights into modern warfare tactics and equipment that could be used to bolster their own military capabilities in Short North Korea's involvement isn't just a random act of kindness It's a strategic play for Survival and growth in a world that has largely turned

its back on them both nations are operating from a position of weakness so they're naturally drawn to one another in a bid for survival and as they move forward it's clear both Russia and North Korea will be keeping their eyes on the prize Mutual benefit at all costs this leads us to the mutually beneficial security Arrangement that holds the answer to the titular question of the video you see in June of 2024 During a rare visit to North Korea Putin and Kim signed what they described as a peaceful and defensive pact however truthfully this Landmark

agreement is less about maintaining peace and more about establishing a military Alliance designed to provide Mutual assistance in the event of aggression against either Nation this partnership framed by the US state department spokesperson Matthew Miller as a new level of desperation by Russia indicates a profound need for Support as Russia continues to face heavy losses in its protracted conflict now let's break down the specifics of this pact the agreement represents a substantial shift in the two Nation historical ties which have waxed and waned over the decades it replaces previous deals from 1961 2000 and 2001

marking the first formalized military cooperation between the two countries in over 20 years The Pact is primarily designed to bolster both Nations Defenses against what they perceive as encroaching threats from the West particularly the US South Korea and Japan while the exact text of this Mutual defense pack remains classified key elements have been highlighted that offer insight into its implications for the purpose of this video the mutual assistance Clause is front and center this Clause stipulates that both countries will support each other in the event of an attack now you might be Wondering how this

clause or this agreement in general could possibly justify North Korea's involvement in Ukraine when Russia is the aggressor well when the Armed Forces of Ukraine launched an incursion into Russia's curse go blast the situation changed Russia could interpret this incursion as an attack on its territory thus triggering the mutual assistance Clause of the defense pact this allows Russia to call on North Korea for Military Support under the guise of collective self-defense now this might sound far-fetched given that Russia initiated the broader Conflict by invading Ukraine however legally the incursion into Russian territory provides just enough

of a pretext for Russia to frame itself as the defender of course this would raise numerous complexities for North Korean milary involvement to be considered truly legitimate Russia would need to demonstrate that Ukraine's Actions constitute an armed attack on its Sovereign territory and that the response is proportionate to the threat posed the principle of proportionality is essential here excessive or disproportionate military responses could violate International humanitarian law Additionally the world can see right through these claims of self-defense particularly given North Korea's ongoing sanctions and Russia's widespread condemnation of its invasion of Ukraine So while this

cooperation pact might offer a convenient legal pretext for Russia to call on North Korea's assistance the reality is far more transparent this call is nothing more than a thinly veiled excuse for further escalation not a genuine Act of self-defense this brings us to The crucial follow-up question why can't Ukraine call on NATO's assistance then well unfortunately there's a pretty straightforward answer to this question Ukraine can't call on NATO's assistance because it's not a NATO member NATO's Collective defense mechanism enshrined in Article 5 of its Charter only applies to member states and as much as Ukraine's

leadership especially President Vladimir zalinski has pleaded for Accelerated membership or more direct involvement from the alliance the country is still in the partner category this means that NATO is under no legal obligation to intervene militarily no Matter how dire the situation gets and according to zalinski the situation will get rather dire the Ukrainian president has repeatedly expressed alarm over the potential involvement of North Korean forces in the conflict according to the reports he received up to 10,000 North Korean troops could preparing to fight for Russia this is no longer about transferring weapons it's actually about

transferring people from North Korea to the occupying military forces he said Painting a Troublesome picture of a conflict that could escalate Beyond current borders but zinsky isn't the only one concerned about the prospect of North Korean troops joining the fight though it didn't independently make any accusations against pongyang yet the US did Express concerns over the potential North Korean military presence in Ukraine on the one hand North Korean involvement would allow Pyongyang to get realtime feedback for the first time Emboldening the already overzealous Nation as General Charles Flynn the US Army's Asia Pacific Commander puts

it that kind of feedback from a real Battlefield to North Korea to be able to make adjustments to their weapons their ammunition their capabilities and even their people to me is very concerning however there's also the question of what North Korean involvement would do for the war us lawmakers such as house intelligence committee chair Mike Turner Have labeled the reported troop movements as alarming and an extreme escalation of the conflict in Ukraine this sentiment was echoed by the French Foreign Ministry spokesman Kristoff Le Mo who referred to the North Korean involvement in Ukraine as an

extremely worrying and serious development this reaction is particularly notable as if you remember French president Emmanuel macron was the only Western leader to suggest sending in NATO forces to defend Ukraine which caused quite a stir at the time but what does NATO have to say this time for their part NATO Secretary General Mark Rutter has expressed that the alliance is closely monitoring the situation but he also refrained from confirming troop deployments this suggests that even with these Rising tensions NATO's hands are tied the legality of intervention remains a significant barrier the worst part Ukraine doesn't

appear to be any closer To Nato membership than it was at the beginning of the conflict which leaves the country in a precarious position although zalinski has recently presented his victory plan for Ukraine which includes NATO membership concrete steps towards reaching this goal appear elusive furthermore NATO diplomats emphasize that Ukraine's borders must be clearly defined before any membership can be considered which is Complicated by the fact that about 20% of Ukraine is Currently controlled by Russian forces so for now NATO is only willing to pledge money to Ukraine not membership but could this change if

North Korea joins in a greater capacity absolutely the potential for a major escalation could absolutely prompt NATO to rethink its position if North Korean involvement results in significant military gains for Russia or increases the intensity of the conflict it could compare NATO members to act more decisively moreover The political ramifications of North Korean involvement could pressure NATO to intervene particularly if that involvement leads to humanitarian crisis or significant threats to European security if North Korean actions are perceived as destabilizing the region or contributing to atrocities NATO might justify intervention to uphold International norms and protect

the stability of Europe throw the implications of a strengthened Russo North Korean Alliance into the mix and NATO could truly have no choice but to to intervene after all we're talking about the alliance of two nuclear armed States led by two of the world's most unpredictable and aggressive regimes a strengthened Russo North Korean Alliance would not only destabilize Ukraine but could threaten the entire security of Europe but here's the issue if it comes down to it NATO will essentially have to choose between two impossible choices Standing by and letting Ukraine fall to an emboldened Russia

backed by North Korea or stepping in and risking World War III you see if NATO steps into the conflict directly with troops and new Weaponry the stakes would escalate to an unprecedented level turning what is currently a regional War into a global one a direct military confrontation between NATO and Russia would almost certainly trigger Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty which would obligate all NATO members to come to each other's defense effectively turning the conflict into a multinational war between the West on one side and Russia and North Korea on the other but remember

this isn't just about boots on the ground or aerial engagements it's about four out of five recognized nuclear weapons States facing off in an open conflict the potential for catastrophic escalation is undeniable Russia already under immense pressure from sanctions And Military losses would perceive NATO intervention as an existential threat in such a scenario Putin has made it clear that Russia wouldn't hesitate to resort to nuclear weapons after all Russian military Doctrine allows for the use of tactical nuclear weapons in conventional Warfare especially if Russia believes its territorial Integrity or regime survival is under immediate threat

introducing North Korea into the equation another country believed to Possess nuclear weapons only amplifies the danger so in this context World War III wouldn't just be another large scale conventional conflict like World War II it would almost inevitably involve nuclear strikes and once the nuclear threshold is crossed a path to deescalation is virtually non-existent both sides will be compelled to retaliate in kind leading to widespread destruction on a level that Humanity has never experienced even if the conflict Only involved Russia and the US NATO's most powerful member the outcome would be nothing short of apocalyptic

after all with 5,44 and 5,500 nuclear warheads respectively the US and Russia own nearly 90% of the global nuclear Arsenal in a potential conflict between these two countries entire cities infrastructure and possibly even nations would be wiped out within hours the death toll could reach into the tens of Millions with the long-term consequences Of nuclear fallout and environmental damage affecting billions across the globe the 2019 simulation devised by Princeton's University program on science and Global Security gives a more precise overview of these figures the simulation estimated that over 90 million people would either be dead

or injured within the first few hours of a nuclear conflict between the US and Russia of course we also can't underestimate the involvement of other Countries NATO's involvement in Ukraine would likely draw in other Global Powers such as China the aspiring Global superpower which has a complex relationship with both Russia and the West could be forced to take sides in the conflict of course China could also use this escalation to further its own interests in regions like Taiwan or the South China Sea though a nuclear war would undoubtedly make any strategic gamesmanship in these regions

futile Other nations whether aligned with NATO or sympathetic to Russia and North Korea could be pulled into the conflict as well expanding the scope well beyond Europe and Asia basically what starts in Ukraine would spiral into a conflict engulfing every corner of the world but let's ask you do you agree can NATO Plus North Korea in Ukraine only equal World War III if so what do you think will be the trigger for NATO's involvement or do you think a major global war can be Avoided altogether and if so how is the draft coming back to

a country near you or even to the one you're living in the war in Ukraine has revealed many new things about war such as the importance of drones in the air and at sea but it's also shown us that war hasn't changed as much as we think the conflict has often resembled World War I trench warfare and indiscriminate artillery bombardments have been commonplace but the resemblances go far beyond the Battlefield one of these is the slow but steady Return of the military draft how has the draft returned to Russia and Ukraine and will the trend

spread even further west might you be about to find yourself conscripted into your country's armed forces in this video we'll look for some answers other than Russia Ukraine is the largest country in Europe with an area of about 233,000 square miles in late 2021 and early 202 2 Russia amassed about 190,000 troops on Ukraine's borders and invaded on the 24th of February along four fronts in the Northwest through Belarus toward the capital of keev in the South outward from Crimea in the East through the unrecognized donet and Lans people's republics and in the Northeast towards

kiv the second largest city in Ukraine unfortunately for the Russians this was not the quick decisive war that they and their Western opponents expected aside from the logistical incompetence poor Morale and poor Doctrine Russia's failures came from a seemingly simple origin it did not have enough troops to subdue such a vast territory after Ukraine defeated Russia's attempt to capture its capital ended the threat to kiv and pushed the Russians out of kasan and back across the denipa river Vladimir Putin saw the writing on the wall he issued a partial mobilization order bringing 300,000 reservists back

into active duty he needed more men pure And simple although Russia has suffered significantly more casualties than Ukraine the latter's numerical disadvantage has G to show more forcefully in the first half of 2024 the struggle of Ukraine's counter offensive last year proved costly for its war effort even soldiers who have not become casualties have been in combat with little or no relief for over 2 years like their Russian enemies Ukraine needed more men the demand for Additional troops has forced the country's legislature to overhaul its draft laws volunteers have dried up as the Grim reality

of prolonged attritional Warfare has set in and Ukraine's top brass have been reduced to pleading for more troops in April the Ukrainian legislature lowered the minimum draft age to 25 and increased penalties for draft dodging as thousands of men in the country have already done Ukraine even took a page out of Russia's Playbook and allowed some prison inm to serve women in Ukraine are not subject to these conscription laws but in 2021 anticipating Invasion Ukraine opened the door to drafting women women in less specialized professions were forced to register with the Ukrainian military for possible

service however these new changes might not be enough Ukraine's commander in the the K Donetsk and luhansk part of the front General Yuri sodol claimed that Russian forces were Outnumbering his troops by 7 to 10 times during the debate over the new draft law this may have been an exaggeration to ensure the Law's passage but Ukraine's lack of Manpower has proven a big problem in the latest campaigns of the war the war is unlikely to end anytime soon consequently the demand for Manpower will go on don't be surprised if Ukraine comes out with a new

draft law lowering the age of eligible men further or even that it starts selecting The women who registered for military service much attention has been paid to the new instruments of war like drones the rapid depletion of ammunition in a pier or near peer conflict has also gotten a lot of attention reminding Western countries that their industry and economies are unprepared for a high-intensity war however the war in Ukraine has also proven that boots on the ground matter just as much on the battlefield as it ever did technology Might have advanced but there's no substitute

for having a lot of soldiers this is another big problem for the west and like-minded countries dict lers like Putin can easily call up necessary men and avoid accountability especially if they force a disproportionate share of the burden on their country's least well-off population as he has done with Russia's ethnic minorities Western democracies cannot do this in the same way drafts require a significant level Of public support after the end of the Cold War these countries mostly abandoned conscription and created smaller and fully professional armed forces the most consequential NATO member that still uses Mass

conscription for a significant part of its military is Turkey this is partly why it has the second largest active military in NATO with about 335,000 active personnel and 379,000 in reserve plus an additional 150,000 paramilitary forces turkey's Traditional system of service involves mandatory 6 months of time spent in the ranks for all men between the ages of 19 and 40 however turkey's armed forces have become increasingly professionalized since the early 2010s this change has permitted Turkish troops to conduct longer deployments further a field the presence of a system of conscription though ensures that turkey has

a readily available source of manpower to call upon and a reliable way To ensure that its mobilized troops come to the colors in the event of conflict the same is not the case for most of NATO's other members Europe had once pioneered conscription with the wars of the French Revolution and Napoleon acting as the origin of the modern practice France had the largest population in Europe at the time and these conscripted armies which started on shaky foundations but became battle hardened and well-trained forces by the End of the period overwhelmed the old systems of military

recruitment seen in places like Russia Prussia and Austria as the 19th century continued France's old enemies adopted similar draft methods and legislation so that by the time World War I came around the only major Western powers that still relied on all volunteer armies were the United Kingdom and the United States the draft laws varied from Nation to Nation but the principle that a country's Able-bodied civilian male population would be subject to service in the National military became established Germany was one of the leading examples it had a system that that required all able-bodied men who

had reached the age of 20 to do two or 3 years of service in the active Army once this was over the men could return to civilian life but remained on the roles as reserves subject to be called to active duty again until they reached the age of 45 In this way Germany was able to raise its Army from a force of 800,000 men to 3.5 million in only 12 days in 1914 Germany's detailed War planning and ability to mobilize its troops rapidly surprised and nearly overwhelmed its enemies even though most of them had drafted

as well as the reality of modern industrial Warfare became apparent the United Kingdom was forced to Institute a draft starting in 1916 the British High command realized that it was no longer Possible to rely on an all volunteer military the United States went through a similar experience during its Civil War by early 1863 when it became apparent that the war would not be decided by a single dramatic battle but through long years of attrition the Congress passed the enrollment act the first true military draft in American history the United States did the same thing when

it entered World War I in 19177 Congress passed the Selective Service System into law requiring All American men between ages 21 and 30 to register for military service the law was amended the following year and extended eligibility for service to 45 World War II saw much the same results with Germany using conscription to swell its ranks into the millions and its enemies having to Institute much more onerous drafts in response for example in the first world war Britain made room for conscientious objectors but this was Largely not the case in the second the United States

began to abandon the draft once the Vietnam War proved highly unpopular in January 1973 The Selective Service Board announced that there would be no further draft calls this followed a campaign promise President Nixon made to end the draft in 1968 his Landslide re-election in 1972 gave him more political Capital to follow through on the promise ever since the United States military has become a professional Fighting force with volunteer and often career soldiers today the United States has a standing Army of 1.3 million active personnel with an additional 800,000 in reserve however this is less than

1% of the American population most Americans have no military experience or expectation that they could be drafted and this could prove a serious problem in a modern war European countries too gradually abandoned their drafts following the end of World War II Despite Cold War irr attentions a long period of Peace on the continent prevailed European nations by and large continued to spend over 2% of their GDP on defense but they began to reassess their draft laws Britain ended its draft in 1960 as the war in Ukraine continues though some British officials have recently dared to

introduce the idea of a renewed draft in the public Consciousness s Patrick Sanders the highest ranking officer in the British Army made waves in January 2024 when he said that the British public would need to be prepared to take up arms against Vladimir Putin's Russia in the event of a wider war in Europe Italy has also made waves with the prospect of a reintroduced draft the country abolished all forms of compulsory military service in 2004 War but the invasion of Ukraine is changing those calculations Georgia Malone's government is in the midst of a significant rearmament

program and Recently Deputy Prime Minister matio salvini suggested that conscription may need to be a part of it his party plans to reintroduce a conscription bill in the country's legislature if enacted there would be 6 months of compulsory military service for men and women alike 10 Downing Street was quick to distance itself from General Sanders comments Italy too has not made any concrete plans to reintroduce a draft as it's likely that V's bill will be defeated For now the British and Italian public would find such moves unacceptable because they are still far away from the

Russian threat other countries do not have the same luxury Germany the leading power in Europe but which has been notoriously negligent in its military preparedness has slowly changed its tune since the invasion a mere 3 days after Russia attacked Ukraine Chancellor Olaf Schultz announced that Berlin would meet the NATO Benchmark to spend 2% on Defense and create a modern military capable of Defending Germany from Putin's aggression the problem is that in addition to a lack of industrial capacity due to years of low spending it's become apparent in Berlin that the modern method of recruiting soldiers

would not raise the necessary forces in the event of a conflict Germany was the center of Cold War tensions the area likeliest to suffer the worst in the event of a third World war while it's not as vulnerable today NATO still considers it under enough of a threat that preparing to defend it was one of the most important parts of the steadfast Defender 2024 exercise the largest the alliance undertook since the fall of the Soviet Union Germany ended conscription in 2011 but has begun to take a second look defense minister Boris Pistorius has tasked his

ministry with exploring the potential draft options and in May 2024 Schultz said in a press conference that Germany needed to find ways to convince more people to find careers in the military the opposition party the Christian democrats have gone further and announced their intentions to reintroduce the draft in Germany if their party wins the country's national election next year Germany's plans are therefore more advanced than Britain's and Italy unsurprisingly the trend seems to be Proportional with the threat each country faces France is well buffered from renewed Russian aggression thanks to his geography but president macron

has long been one of the voices warning that Europe needed a credible defense independence of the United States and its chaotic domestic politics France ended its draft in 1997 but even in the 2000s policy makers in Paris began to realize that their country was unacceptably vulnerable France's Projects scorpion Titan and Vulcan have meant to shore up suppli of military equipment and ensure reliable manufacturing at scale once these initiatives were in place French policy makers turned their attention toward the supply of Manpower as early as 2018 macron brought back mandatory national service although this did not

necessarily mean military service nevertheless he gave away his intentions the previous year during a campaign Speech there he praised the virtues of a military life and its ability to bring renewed social cohesion he implied such service would only be for a month if it was reintroduced now things are much more explicit several departments in France toyed with the idea of renewed conscription in 2023 macron was also considering proposals nothing has come to fruition yet but France seems to be one of the likeliest countries to reintroduce its draft in relatively Short order aside from the Baltic

states Romania might be the most vulnerable country in NATO it abolished its draft in 2007 but since it borders Ukraine it would be on the front lines of any renewed conflict with Russia it's already had a preview as Russia launched drone attacks on Ukrainian ships carrying Grain on the Danube as an alternative to the dangerous Black Sea shipping route some explosions reportedly took place on Romanian Territory Romania also has Serbia for a neighbor which is a friendly country to Russia and has also made serious over chores of bringing back conscription in its borders Additionally the

low pay in the Romanian military less than $1,100 per month for non-commissioned officers and even lower for privates makes voluntary recruiting even more difficult in light of these realities Romanian prime minister Nikolai cutcha floated the idea of bringing constru deson back In 2023 his speech highlighted a growing realization among European leaders in general back onto the drawing board comes the defense industry needing to be turned into War Industry and so do the small technologically sophisticated armies of professionals that must revert to mass armies with society-wide reserves and extensive mobilization capabilities to cope with a large

scale long high-intensity and resource depleting Warfare kcha is a former General in Romania's Armed Forces so he understands the delicate situation better than most Romania is one of the NATO countries spending above 2% of GDP on defense reaching 2.5% in 2023 but it would have serious Manpower issues if it did not reintroduce conscription Manpower issues which have already proven so dangerous over the course of the war next door like Britain and Italy Romania has not yet made a serious attempt to reintroduce conscription Though it wouldn't be surprising if it did 15 countries in Europe still

have drafts although not all of them are serious about conscription for example the Netherlands does not enforce its draft laws its relatively safe position has given its politicians cover to not be serious about it Lithuania is a different story it's one of the countries at the highest risk of a Russian invasion it abolished its draft in 2008 but reinstated it in 2016 after Russia's annexation of Crimea and support for the Breakaway republics in eastern Ukraine 2 years earlier given their historical experience the lithuanians caught on to what Russia was up to and vas reinstituted its

draft to cope with the increased threat under the current law Lithuanian men between the ages of 18 and 23 May be called to serve in the armed forces for a stint of 9 months and are selected randomly through an electronic Lottery 27,000 men are Currently in this Lottery Estonia another of the Baltic states also maintains conscription with all men being required to serve 11 months under the colors Sweden abolished its draft in 2010 but this lasted for only 7 years Stockholm reintroduced conscription after Vladimir Putin's AIMS in Europe became apparent the draft is less strict

than other countries as Sweden sends notice to both men and women of military age asking them if they think they will Be a good fit for military service those that answer no don't have an obligation to serve Stockholm claims it only wants to call up people that are motivated those that do serve stay between 9 and 12 months if the Russian threat continues to grow don't be surprised if Sweden becomes less accommodating with those that do not wish to serve Norway shares a border with Russia which is why it never abolished conscription in 2013 conscription

was extended to women Making it the first NATO member to do so all able-bodied people between the ages of 18 and 44 are expected to serve for 12 months in Wartime the eligibility pool Rises to the age of 55 this model is one that countries like France and Germany see as potentially being ideal which means that if they were to bring back their drafts women would likely be involved in Europe the trend seems to be a slow and steady return of conscription if the situation in Ukraine gets worse Don't be surprised if those dominoes start

to fall as they have through the history of the European continent in the United States policy makers have floated a return of the draft but while The Selective Service System remains in place and all men must register with it upon their 18th birthdays no serious Prospect of a reintroduced draft has made any Headway the all volunteer military was more than adequate to face down the Soviet Union in its last days And the era of American hedony that followed however with Washington pressed in Europe and the Indo Pacific the demand for more soldiers is likely to

increase in coming years and in the event of a war America would likely be involved on at least two far-flung fronts just as in World War II the current size of the United States military would be inadequate for this mission that remains theoretical but one thing is certain momentum is building to Reintroduce conscription in many of the countries that thought it would be gone forever depletion of men in a peer or near peer conflict is as serious as depletion of ammunition leaving national leaders with no choice but to retool their populations just as much as

they have tried to do with their Industries when commenting on the potential need for renewed conscription General Sanders said that regular armies start wars citizen armies win them this was the Case in both world wars and it's proving the case in Ukraine today when Wars are not brought to a quick and decisive conclusion the old professional Army depletes quickly from attrition and conscripted Replacements are needed rapidly this was something that much of the world had conveniently forgotten during the era of the so-called end of history and the focus on low-level counterterrorism and counterinsurgency operations now

that great power Competition is returning and that the world is shifting into separate ideological camps history is rearing its head again the draft has already returned to a few countries in the west do you think their allies will follow suit there could be war in Sweden those are the words of Carl Oscar Bolan Sweden's civil defense minister and they were spoken to the attendees of a defense conference in January 2024 worse yet for Sweden Boland isn't The only voice in the country that's warning its citizens to prepare for war the commander-in-chief of the military General

Michael Biden not only backs up what Bolan said but builds upon it saying that all swedes should prepare mentally for the possibility of war against who Putin of course the comments caused an uproar in some parts of Sweden and panic in others with the country's former prime minister Magdalena Anderson objecting to the warning while pointing Out that it's not as if war is just outside the door elsewhere in the country a children's rights organization named bris reported that its National helpline has started to see an uptick of worried calls from children asking about a potential

conflict as well as an increase in Tik Tok posts talking about it before bolan's statement bris received none of these types of calls but to Bolan and Biden as well as many of the more military-minded people in The country the call to prepare wasn't only necessary it was a wakeup call one designed to shock the Swedish system to ensure is prepared for Putin if and when he lands on their doorstep the question now is simple why is Sweden preparing for war with Russia after all Putin has his hands full in Ukraine and though the taking

of adiva does give him a certain military Advantage it's likely he'll be embroiled in that Conflict for at least the rest of 2024 if not longer depending On the level of support that Ukraine receives from its Western allies but it's that very war that provides us with our first reason why Sweden is starting to prepare to fight Russia in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine Europe woke up to the fact that it has a territorially minded leader on its doorstep who's willing to invade other countries to stake his claim to land that he believes

belongs to Russia and since Putin's war with Ukraine began NATO has been an everpresent thorn in his side Ukraine wants to join guaranteeing protection from NATO's members and forcing them to enter the conflict due to Article 5 of the organization's Charter and many other countries are starting to see the benefits of being part of the military Alliance after all it's better to be part of a group that can combine forces to fend off Russia than to be on the outside while hoping that members of That group will provide financial and military aid Sweden recognizes this

that's why the country's lawmakers officially ratified and approved its bid to join NATO on March 22nd 2023 with that approval in hand Sweden now had a clear path to becoming part of the Union bolstering its defenses in the process right not so much though NATO invited Sweden to join the group during its Madrid Summit in June 2022 Paving the way for the new laws in Sweden allowing The country to apply it took almost 2 years for the country to become a fully fledged member Hungary which already has ties to Russia stood in its way as

the only country that refused to approve the proposal to have Sweden join worse yet for Sweden it faced no definitive timeline on when it would be able to join NATO following its invitation hungary's president claimed that he'd need to hold a meeting with Sweden's leadership in Budapest before he'd Provide his approval what do all of these NATO wranglings have to do with Russia according to Nato not much at all in speaking about Sweden's membership NATO claims that Putin indicates he sees little to no threat to Russia if Sweden joins the group his issue would come

if NATO then starts to build military infrastructure in Sweden or neighboring Finland the latter of which shares an 830 M border with Russia and became a NATO member in April 2023 publicly Putin And his cronies have been far more overt in their warnings in April 2022 just a few months prior to Nato extending its hand to Sweden BBC News reported that a Kremlin spokesperson named Dimitri pesov told reporters that NATO remains a tool geared toward WS confrontation he went on to make a more Sinister claim saying that Russia would have to rebalance the situation should

Sweden and Finland join the group Finland was already a member before the creation of this video and Finally after months of wrangling Sweden officially joined the NATO family on March 7th 2024 of course both will have taken note of pesov comments when they were made with their desire to join NATO likely being a counter to his rebalancing the question of course is what does rebalancing the situation mean in this context to Russia NATO is a domineering force not only in Europe but the entire Western world it's the propagator of the Western World Order And a

group that prevents Putin from achieving his geopolitical AIMS in short Putin believes that NATO places Global geopolitics out of balance allowing them to favor the group's members via the collective military power and the bargaining might that comes with it rebalancing could simply mean that Putin would seek to build stronger alliances with other anti-western countries such as China there's evidence Russia is doing just that especially in last Year's bricks expansion which saw Iran join the loose economic Alliance while both Russian and Chinese influence grew in the organization but the other way to interpret these rebalancing comments

would be that Russia May invade Finland and Sweden in response to their NATO membership especially if that membership results in the country's hosting infrastructure he believes could damage his Ambitions after all it's not like Russia and Sweden don't have a history Territory has long been a sticking point between the two Nations even with Putin's June 2022 claims that Russia doesn't have the same sort of territorial quarrel with Sweden that it has with Ukraine when doing so Putin even went as far as to claim that Sweden as well as Finland could join whatever group they wanted

of course that claim came alongside yet another threat to meet the building or deployment of military infrastructure in either Country if the time came however we also know that territorial rights both modern and ancient are high on Putin's agenda the same goes for history War which he covered extensively during his February interview with Tucker Carlson that bizarre interview began with Putin delivering an extensive lecture on his own interpretation of European history which he used as justification for his invasion of Ukraine and talked about Kean Russ a medieval superpower country That included Ukraine and belarus's territory

as well as Russia's that focus on History would have scared many in Sweden because the country has its own long-standing history of war with Russia to look back on take a trip back to the to the 19th century and you see Russia pulling moves that are eerily similar to what they're doing today in Ukraine the year was 1807 and the great French Emperor Napoleon was running rough shod throughout Europe the year prior he Defeated Prussia to secure his hold on what we now know as Germany with his next goal being to close all economic ports

to Britain this would cut the island nation off from Europe economically so he could starve it out and Achieve an easy Victory that's where Russia comes into play by June 1807 Napoleon had taken freed land which opened the way for him to advance on Russia pushing the Russian lines back to the river all Napoleon exerted his Nation's power before calling the Russian Zar Alexander the to a meeting in order to negotiate peace rather than battling a treaty out the two Emperors found themselves fascinated with one another to the point where they started drawing up plans

for a new world order part of those plans included dividing Europe up into Russian and French regions with the task of Co Sweden into joining this new joint Continental Empire falling into Russia's hands in Return for taking Sweden Russia would receive Finland which was Swedish territory at the time digging into the war that followed could fill an entire video so we won't do it here the key information you need to know is that Sweden and Russia fought viciously with both achieving major victories though Russia ultimately started to come out on top to avoid losing more

of its territory Sweden entered negotiations with Russia in September 1809 with the Result being that Russia annexed Finland and the Ireland Islands the annexation ended nearly a 600y old Union between Sweden and Finland essentially setting the stage for the latter to become its own country Russia held influence in Finland for over a century following these negotiations only leaving the country in 1917 a year before the end of the first world war during this occupation and period of control Finland began to develop its own national Identity even to the point where it was granted autonomy within

the Russian Empire of the time however the bolic Revolution put paid to finland's relationship with Russia serving as the trigger for it declaring its independence in December 1917 almost 18 months later the US recognized Finland as an independent nation and the formation of the Scandinavia that we know today was completed that story is relevant because it shows that Sweden And Russia have a military history in most cases that history would mean little the war between the two which resulted in Sweden's loss of Finnish territory and the creation of a completely new country was over 2

centuries ago its ancient history with Sweden and Finland both long being recognized as separate entities in the 21st century but if there's anything that Putin's conversation with Carlson has showed us it's that Russia's leader Is willing to twist history to justify his own actions he did it to Ukraine now both Finland and Sweden May fear that he'll do it to them after all the nations aren't only linked in their desire to join NATO they've also teamed up to fight the Soviet Union in more recent history in 193 9 Finland began to suspect that the Soviet

Union intended to Annex the country once again taking back the control it had lost a little over two decades prior for its part the Soviet Union feared finland's proximity to its borders suspecting that the nation could be used by others as a base from which its enemies could attack in the future that fear sounds rather similar to Putin's worries about Finland and Sweden becoming NATO members regardless Finnish suspicions were confirmed in November of that year when the Soviets invaded the tiny Nation just 3 months before Adolf Hitler's fateful invasion of Poland What followed was a

3 And a half month War during which the superior might of the Russian army was somehow repelled by finland's comparatively meager forces at least for a brief time Finland managed to put up this resistance with the help of Sweden which provided military aircraft during the brief conflict though this initial loss damaged Russian morale the Soviets came back later with a better organized Army Finland already exhausted from the early battles of the short-lived War Eventually decided to enter negotiations with the Soviet Union the Treaty of Moscow was signed seeing the Finnish seed 11% of their territory

to Moscow and another War pitting Sweden and Finland against Russia had ended sit tight we're not quite coming back to the present day just yet during the second world war Sweden cleverly positioned itself as a neutral entity knowing that it didn't have the military strength to repel the combined axis forces that Positioning allowed it to be a vocal critic of both the Soviet Union and the us though it was far warer of Russia behind the scenes according to Reuters the end of the second World War and the increased power of the Soviet Union in that

War's aftermath made Sweden suspect that it would soon face a Soviet invasion of its own so from the 1960s up until the last couple of decades Sweden had a secret deal with the US that the latter would come to its defense should It ever face that Invasion other incidents that created tension between Sweden and Russia included the Downing of a pair of Swedish aircraft over the Baltic Sea in 1952 an act for which the Soviet Union didn't claim responsibility until 1991 and the whiskey on the Rocks incident that saw a whiskey class Soviet submarine run

ashore on the southern Swedish Coast with Swedish authorities of the time claiming the sub emitted enough radiation to suggest that there Was a nuclear device on board fast forward to 2024 tensions between Russia and Sweden have eased considerably from their Cold War Peak however Putin's threats of aggression related to Sweden's desire to join NATO ring similar to the reason why Russia invaded Finland during the winter War both are close to Russia's borders with Finland sharing a border and both could become sites of the very military infrastructure that could cause Retaliation from Russia add to all

of this Putin's now established trait of using the past to justify his actions in the present as we see in Ukraine and the possibility of a Russian invasion of Sweden no longer seems so farfetched it may not be a priority for Putin but with Sweden now part of NATO it's positioned at itself as an enemy of Russia at least in Putin's eyes even if that membership doesn't come with the caveat of allowing NATO to build military infrastructure on Its territory Sweden has still joined forces with what Russia claims is one of the most domineering groups

in the world and given that Sweden along with Finland are essentially right on Russia's doorstep it's possible that Putin will turn his threats into a reality should he come out on top in Ukraine and if that war happens it may not start with troops on the ground instead it might start with cyber attacks according to the international trade Administration or ITA Sweden is one of the world's most well-connected countries over 98% of its population are hooked up to the Internet with most having access to smartphones and making use of remote access to work and play

but that connectivity creates a problem ransomware attacks have been on the rise in the country growing by 144% between 2019 and 23 sofos Sweden which releases an annual Cyber attack report for the country claims that it's one of the most Exposed in the world in terms of the number of attacks It suffers and how much those attacks cost companies now think about it in these terms if Sweden is so vulnerable to cyber attacks on the business level how prepared do you think its relatively underfunded military would be to fend off even more Sinister attacks aimed

at its infrastructure not well enough according to Saget's policin the Swedish Security Service it points out that Sweden's military buildup Creates a greater risk of cyber attacks especially given that it involves an increasing number of entities falling under the country's National Security scope it specifically cites shortcomings in protective security claiming that Sweden's total defense capability risks being compromised while it's being built up if nothing is done to remedy the issue of course there's one nation that's known for exploiting cyber security vulnerabilities Russia According to the National cyber security Center we saw Russia's use of cyber

attacks in action just 1 hour before its invasion of Ukraine UK and us in Ence officials agree that the country launched an operation targeting a Ukrainian commercial Communications company named ViaSat with a particular focus on the country's military the attack also affected wind farms throughout much of Central Europe in addition to cutting off internet access For many in Ukraine it would be inaccurate to say the attack paved the way for Russia's Invasion it would have happened anyway but it certainly disrupted Communications at a time when Ukraine's military needed to be able to organize its defenses

Against The Invasion so we see yet another reason for Sweden to prepare for war with Russia Beyond its NATO membership and the territorial claims that Putin likely believes he has Sweden is vulnerable Enough on the Cyber level to make an attack by Russia a real possibility of course all this leads to another question if Sweden believes that it needs to gear up for war against Russia what's it doing to prepare the first and most obvious answer comes from its new membership of NATO by joining that military Alliance Sweden now falls under the protection of 31

other countries R thanks to Article 5 of the NATO Charter that article states that any attack by a Non-nato country on a NATO member's soil will be considered an attack on all members in other words should Russia invade Sweden it'll be able to call on the combined military might of 31 other countries including the United States to come to his defense that alone might be enough to dissuade Putin however Sweden isn't taking any chances in addition to its NATO membership Sweden has upped its military spending considerably in September 2023 Reuters announced that it Would add

700 million CRS to its military budget approximately $ 68.5 million bringing its spending up to 1119 billion crowns or about $1.6 billion in 2024 that number amounts to around 2.1% of the country's gross domestic product or GDP bringing it in line with NATO's 2% recommendation and demonstrating that Sweden is willing to invest big in its fighting forces but even before that announcement Sweden had been on a military spending spree in April 2023 The country ordered 20 pansar terang Bill 300 vehicles from Finn manufacturer petria these 6x6 armored vehicles were purchased under the common armored vehicle

System Program of which Sweden became a member in 2022 capable of carrying up to 12 people they feature a modular design that allows them to be configured for purposes as varied as ambulance duties and command and control 2 months later Sweden in a deal to to purchase 3,000 muv 4x4 vehicles from Italian manufacturer idv all of which will become part of the Swedish armed forces and meet the country's need for light multi-purpose vehicles that it could use on the battlefield and in September 2023 the country also signed on the dotted line with Bae a British

manufacturer to purchase around $500 million worth of Archer artillery Delivery Systems speaking of Ukraine Sweden isn't ignoring its importance in a potential war with Russia after all if Ukraine is able to stop Russia in its tracks that Victory would minimize the threat that Putin poses to Sweden that's likely why the 20th of February 2022 brought with it an announcement from the Swedish government that it would donate an additional $693 million to Ukraine the 15th support package it's delivered to the country so Sweden is flashing the cash to boost its military granted it's not spending nearly

as much as Russia which increased its military spending to $160 billion in 2023 but this spending is a clear sign of intent Sweden knows it needs to be stronger and it's willing to buy what it needs to shore up its defenses that combined with its NATO membership makes the country a strong threat to Russia should Putin decide to invade but there's more the country has also taken steps to reintroduce conscription in 2010 Sweden did away with its military service program which was a holdover from the Cold War period Leading to a drastic reduction in the

country's armed forces that lack of conscription only lasted for 8 years though with the program being reintroduced in 2018 at that time it was essentially voluntary however the war in Ukraine coupled with Sweden's NATO application caused it to Rock It Up in 2023 conscription Rose by 30% with Al jazer reporting that the country PLS to raise its conscription numbers to 10,000 by 2030 the country's prime minister UL Christen shared the prevailing sentiment that inspired the move when speaking to the National Conference of Defense in early 2024 Sweden can't sit around investigating things year after year

now it's important to get things done it certainly isn't sitting around anymore Sweden is now a NATO member it's spending more on its military than it has in decades and it's using conscription to bolster its numbers and create a generation of swedes who are Trained and capable of entering combat should the situation call for it the one thing it stopped short of is reintroducing its nuclear program in 1945 immediately in the wake of World War II and the dropping of nukes on Nagasaki and hos IMA Sweden created a nuclear research program it spent the next

two decades researching how to develop these powerful weapons though there's no evidence that it was ever able to assemble a nuclear device by the Mid 1960s around the time it created the secret defense deal with the United States that we mentioned earlier in the video Sweden decided to end this program becoming a signatry of the non-nuclear proliferation treaty in the process it doesn't intend to break that treaty in an April 2023 post discussing its then proposed entry into NATO Sweden confirmed its commitment to nuclear disarmament it won't build nuclear bombs despite the fact that Russia

has them But frankly it doesn't need to now that it's a NATO member it's allied with France the US and the UK all nuclear powers that are bound by Article 5 to come to Sweden's defense should Russia ever attack on Swedish soil all of this leads us to a final question could Sweden fend off or even defeat Russia if War ever comes if fighting alone it would likely stand no chance the Russian war machine is so powerful that even if Sweden could turn the fight into the Battle of attrition we're seeing in Ukraine it would

likely be overcome but Sweden isn't alone it's now part of a military Alliance that will join in its fight if it ever finds itself at war with Russia Putin will be fuming and he'll be even angrier if Sweden allows NATO to build military infrastructure on its territory but unlike Ukraine which isn't a NATO member and doesn't benefit from Article 5 of the NATO Charter Sweden now has allies who are Duty bound To join the fight rather than simply support it with funds and Equipment if Russia ever invaded now we'll turn the questions over to you

do you think Russia will actually invade Sweden what would happen if Russia and Sweden did go to war as Putin Paces his office he is nervous despite his outwardly calm demeanor and projected strength on his State controlled media Outlets he is a wreck in private since 2014 he has tried to take over Ukraine with no luck in 2022 he launched a full-scale invasion of the country to decapitate the democratically elected government and install a Russian controlled puppet after launching his so-called special military operation That was supposed to take keev in 3 days he has been

fighting a war of attrition against a nation that refuses to give in despite being outnumbered and outgunned even after spending tens of billions of dollars losing more than 10,000 pieces of Equipment and hundreds of thousands of soldiers he is still not any closer to declaring Victory than when he started because of his military's host of setbacks on the battlefield Putin has turned to increasingly Desperate Measures to win the war recruiting convicted murderers raising mercenary armies conducting bombing campaigns against civilian targets deporting masses of civilians to Russia and other crimes that have done nothing but Harden

Ukrainians resolve to win the war and as Putin has tried various tactics to win the war so too has the US and NATO done their part to help Ukraine succeed over the past several years the us alone has contributed over $175 billion to Ukraine's war effort with almost 70 billion of that being direct military aid in the form of all types of weapons and ammunition for land sea and air requirements NATO countries have also given significant money amounting to Over 30 billion in economic aid and 40 billion in direct military aid because of the huge

amount of Western Aid flowing into Ukraine Russian formations have been brought to a standstill due to a small Army being able to force itself several orders of magnitude thanks to these weapon donations and that's where Putin has a problem Putin has routinely called for Western Aid to stop flowing into Ukraine and has threatened several so-called red lines for Aid that would Trigger a larger response from him Chief among these red lines has been the delivery of the F-16 fighter jet though the F-16 airframe is several decades old modern midlife upgrade packages during the early 2000s

brought these tried andrue fighter jets into the Contemporary ERA with newly refer urbished airf frames new Radars computers weapons and other sensors the modern F-16 can go toe-to-toe with some of Russia's best aircraft like the s34 And S35 this is a problem for Putin though Ukraine's Air Force remains viable after years of fighting its role remains limited due to its small size older planes less Advanced Radars and shorter range weapons as a result the Ukrainian Air Force's saly generation is sometimes up to 40 times less than Russia's ability to launch aircraft each day however thanks

to the DAR of air defense systems that Western backers have Provided the Ukrainian armed forces are still able to contest the Skies over Ukraine through a combination of short medium and Long Range Systems however recent developments May finally tip the balance of power in favor of Ukraine recent media reports show that Belgium has pledged to donate 30 of its Surplus F-16 fighters in exchange for newer f-35s this pledge has now pushed the total number of committed f-16s for Ukraine to 85 though these planes may Not arrive in theater for some months or potentially years due

to retrofitting and pilot training this number of f-16s is what Ukraine says it needs to gain local Air superiority along a sector of the front if Ukraine were to gain air superiority in a specific area like kasan for example its forces could use this as a weapon to reel back Russian advances sector by sector until push back to the 2014 line of contact or potentially to the international border Itself such a possibility is a disastrous scenario for Putin and he would certainly choose a drastic course of action to prevent the defeat of conventional Russian forces

on the battlefield another reason why Putin might make good on his promise to escalate the war is because of Ukrainian attacks on Russia itself over the past several years Ukraine has attacked Russia numerous times with drones that have crippled air bases far inside Russia and resulted in some hilarious countermeasures like placing tires on top of multi-million dollar airplanes to prevent their destruction recently however these attacks have ramped up to affect Putin's bottom line his oil industry because Russia is essentially just a Giant gas station that supplies huge quantities of oil and natural gas to the

world this serves as Putin's main way of obtaining foreign cash to back up his worthless rubles since January 2014 Ukraine has been attacking Putin's oil industry in Earnest by launching at least 15 recorded drone attacks against oil refineries across Russia sometimes hundreds of kilometers away from Ukraine these attacks have crippled up to 14% of Russia's oil refining capacity at a time and forced Putin to announce a six-month freeze on fuel exports to ensure price stability at home despite America's urging to stop attacking inside Russia Ukraine continues its strikes unabated As Putin's military struggles to shoot

down these drones it's a huge political embarrassment for him since he has already stated that companies should seek to purchase their own air defense systems since the Russian military cannot afford to buy anymore if Ukraine continues these attacks or they get worse and worse this too might be the Tipping Point if public sentiment goes against him and he's seen as weak whether caused by a perceived loss on The battlefield or having his seat of power threatened at home Putin would take drastic action to save his shattered dream of reinstating a modern USSR but what would

a war be like our zero as the West continues to watch the war in Ukraine unfold Putin continues to make veiled threats in the media while Putin has been saying these things for years Western Nations do not take him seriously anymore since they assum he could not be so foolish as to start a Peer-to-peer war with the US and NATO while still trying to conquer Ukraine but that's exactly what Putin is planning thanks to Western preoccupation with Ukraine Putin has been able to replenish his forces engaged in Ukraine with new ones this is not uncommon

for him for since the war started the Russian military has raised two new combined arms armies it has sent to Ukraine from a mixture of contract troops volunteer groups private military Companies and prisoners shifting these forces from the front lines to bellus and Northern Russia for rest and refit is a common occurrence now this is because Russia has built up strategic level reserves through Putin's crypto mobilization efforts that Target ethnic minorities economically disadvantaged communities and Petty criminals which brings in nearly 30,000 Personnel each month of course Ukraine inflicts around 1,000 casualties per day on the

Russian Military still because of these mobilization efforts Putin has steadily built up his current Army from around 1.1 million troops to 1.5 million soldiers due to around 300 to 400,000 Russians signing enlistment contracts each year which is the target set by the former Russian Minister of Defense sery shyu with his new Army of 400,000 troops just over the size that Putin had used to invade Ukraine in 2022 Putin intends to deploy them in a surprise Invasion Meant to shock NATO into stopping support for Ukraine but where would Putin strike though Putin might be mad he

does have some measure of realism in his body expecting the Russian army to muster enough personnel and material to to invade the entirety of NATO is simply an absurd suggestion that even his staunchest supporters would advise him against instead he intends a two-pronged limited invasion of Eastern Europe meant to fracture the NATO alliance and gain Some territory for himself while he's at it the most likely candidate for this strike would be the baltics the Baltic countries of Estonia lvia and Lithuania are the most exposed countries in the alliance and have a nasty history with Russia

after gaining independence after World War I the USSR invaded and occupied these countries in 1940 after Decades of communist rule they were among the first socialist republics to declare independence and among the first To join NATO after the USSR fell because of their Decades of Soviet rule there are significant populations of ethnic Russians and russian-speaking people within these countries touting the same line of reasoning that he did with Ukraine Putin would likely Telegraph in the media that these countries were trying to abuse or somehow eradicate these ethnic Russian people as Putin would have his press

fear-mongering in the papers trying to disrupt European Governments like he always does these 400,000 new troops would slip quietly into position in bellarus and the Western military District of Russia but what would Putin's strategic plan be though it's hard to speculate on the inner thoughts of a Madman it's likely that Putin would want to use his army quickly to overrun the Baltic countries before the US and NATO had a chance to respond but in order to do so he would need to cut off access to the baltics Through a strategic choke point called The salki

Gap the salki Gap is The Unofficial name of a roughly 60 km territory stretching from the Russian kaliningrad exclave on the Baltic Coast across the northeastern Polish border with Lithuania and stops in Belarus this sparsely populated area is a critical choke point for the US and NATO alliance control of this area means that the baltics are cut off from Mainland Europe holding the line here for Putin would Mean that he could block the expected NATO Counterattack at the same time he consolidates control over the baltics and forces the US and NATO to the negotiating table

over Ukraine but how would that Invasion play out and Hour 1 as Putin launches his invasion the first Russian troops to enter the baltics and the salki Gap are not conventional forces but are actually Putin's Little Green Men earning this Monica from the earlier invasion of Crimea in 2014 due To wearing green army uniforms with no Insignia these private military contractors are the advanced guard of Putin's Army meant to seize key objectives like Bridges roads government buildings radio stations and Military Barracks to allow regular troops to enter freely instead of moving in regular army vehicles

the little green men instead riding converted civilian 4x4 trucks SUVs and other commercial vehicles to try to blend in with the Local population their goal is to seize their objectives through surprise and speed so they want to avoid drawing attention to themselves as they cross the international border assisting these little green men in the first hour of the invasion is an extensive network of spies and collaborators Putin's Security Services have developed over the years because of the significant number of Russian minorities and former Communists in the baltics and other European Countri countries State intelligence and

police services routinely make contact with these individuals via online platforms social media rallies bars concerts and other traditional recruitment methods by fostering relationships with disenfranchised locals who are sympathetic to Russia Putin hopes that he can use them as On The Ground Intelligence when The Invasion kicks off to serve as guides for the little green men spot targets For Russian aircraft and relay NATO troop movements to Russian forces as the little green men encounter their first NATO checkpoints the troops wonder what the heck is going on on here though there is frequent movement in these countries

due to the nearly 10 brigades of Baltic and NATO forces stationed there us and NATO troops do not travel with firearms in personal vehicles but before they realize what's happening it's too late as these men quickly Overwhelm border checkpoints across the baltics after securing these border checkpoints and other vital objectives within several kilometers of the border the little green men signal to Conventional Russian formations to begin driving in land while waiting in formations on the Russian side of the border under the protection of camouflage and GPS Jammers Russian armored and mechanized units begin lurching forward

to advance into the Baltics their objective is similar to trying to take keev since keev is roughly 210 km from Russian territory the Russian high command hopes to replicate the failed Invasion attempt on keev by driving straight towards the capital cities of Ria and talin which are about 200 km from the Russian border however lithuania's Capital City vas is only about 40 km from the B Russian border because of its close proximity to Belarus Putin's generals hope to arrive In Vilas by the first day and the other two capitals by day three as Putin's armored

columns begin to Traverse the baltics they encounter scattered resistance for the first hour however after overcoming the invasion's initial shock resistance becomes more organized and coordinated among the NATO Defenders they know they cannot hope to fight and win against the Russians all by themselves they are hoping to buy enough time for us and NATO reinforcements to Come and roll the Russians back to the international borders of Russia and Belarus but NATO ground troops aren't the only ones getting clobbered in the first hour of Russia's Invasion Putin knows that to win this war he needs to

secure the baltics and close the salki gap within a week anything longer than a week and he runs the risk of not only General mobilization of NATO countries but also the threat of massive American reinforcements crossing the Atlantic but Crossing the Atlantic will take a week and this does not account for the several days of mobilizing and loading American ships before the journey because of this he intends to Target bases where NATO's rapid response Force intends to mobilize first NATO's rapid response force is the Premier organization within NATO intended to rapidly deploy to crisis zones

within hours or days depending on the need this force is comprised of land air and sea Assets that combine troops from across every NATO country into a combined arms Army that can sustain operations for several months without needing reinforcements for resupply at the beginning of the invasion about 50,000 NATO rapid response forces were forward deployed in the baltics Hungary Slovakia Romania and Bulgaria about 30,000 of these troops were stationed in the baltics the bulk of the rapid response force is stationed in Poland with around 100 members there as of May 2024 and the rest is

stationed throughout Europe with the bulk of the remaining Personnel air assets and Supply bases stationed in Germany it's these major troop concentrations in Germany and Poland that Russia wants to knock out before they are mobilized for the rescue of the baltics Russia intends to eliminate these groupings through the use of longrange precision fires though the fog of War prevents accurate data from Coming out it's known that Russia maintains one of the world's largest inventories of conventional missiles with close to two dozen missile types of all varieties the missile threat posed by Russia even after years

of conflict in Ukraine should not be underestimated in fact despite sanctions Russia has continued to maintain the inventory of its conventional short medium and longrange missiles in attacking NATO positions in Poland and Germany Russia Would conduct a multi-tiered attack coming from different directions for longer range targets up to 2 ,500 km away in Germany like the Ramstein Airbase Russia would launch a barrage of kh-55 k101 and caliber cruise missiles from the kaliningrad exclave bellarus and Russian ships in the Baltic Sea for Targets in Poland like the US Army base at posan Putin could use the

Hypersonic kinal missile with a max range of around 500 km in addition to medium- range Ballistic missiles and repurposed air defense missiles like the s300 or S400 in addition to these missiles Russia would C launch hundreds of shahad 136 drones the shahad drones known as kamakazi drones in the media are one-way attack drones meant to blow up Targets on impact since the war in Ukraine started Russia has bought thousands of these drones from Iran and has even created a factory in southern Russia to build thousands more to meet Russian Military demand because of the shahad

136 is extensive range around 2,500 km the Russians can use them when attacking far away targets with long-range ballistic missiles due to this fact the Russians have changed CH their tactics to include shaad drones as a sort of diversion in multi-layered multi-threat air attacks the purpose of using a bunch of shahad drones would be to confuse NATO radar systems and waste precious time and ammunition shooting these down While much larger missiles come in for the kill but much to Putin's surprise his barrage of hundreds of long-range missiles and drones has little effect on NATO defenses

this is due to the integrated air defense network the US and NATO has spent decades building across Europe the integrated air defense network current in place is the most sophisticated in the world beginning with ground radar sites almost every NATO country has at least three Groundbased radar sites with some countries having as many as 10 these radar sites all operate at various ranges frequencies and elevations to capture data on threats flying in at any level and any profile in addition to this robust network of radar sites the NATO alliance has something Russia does not an

advanced Airborne early warning system known as the E3 Century these Airborne early warning command control planes or awax for short are the eyes And ears of NATO in the sky these Boeing aircraft have a massive radar Dome that allows us and NATO forces to see threats up to 400 km away with just three of these aircraft they can provide an overarching picture of Central Europe with 14 total awax in service which does not even include the Ed hawkey from any American Carrier strike group nearby the alliance can see these missiles coming a long way away

as the awax and groundbased radar stations throughout The baltics Poland Germany Romania Hungary Slovakia and others pick up Russian missiles this information is shared with the battle management coordinators in Germany as this information is fed to Allied commanders in real time through secure data links NATO forces are able to begin striking down these targets as NATO short medium and long range anti-air fires begin taking out incoming Russian missiles f-15s f-22s and f-35s along with other Allied aircraft begin scrambling from air bases across Europe to intercept these threats while the groundbased defenses are worried about the

ballistic missile threats the aircraft will take over shooting down the incoming drones and the result is not good for Russia just like what happened in the Middle East earlier this year even this Advanced multi-threat attack was almost entirely defeated while a handful of hundreds of drones and missiles fired by Russia make it through few actually strike their targets this is because Russian Precision Munitions is more of a suggestion than a fact the war in Ukraine has shown that Russian Precision weapons are more of a fairy tale than reality while estimates vary due to the fog

of War some show that Russian missile attacks are routinely 30 ft to more than 34 of a mile off on average such inaccuracies are seen about 40% of the time for all Russian missiles with Such a high margin of error the missiles and drones that somehow make it through NATO's air defense network cause little damage and few Personnel casualties overall major bases like Ramstein stutgart and posan continue operations as usual hour two after the first wave of Russian missile attacks failed us and NATO aircraft began setting up combat air patrol stations throughout Poland and the

baltics to build a protective screen While more reinforcements arrive as Allied Pilots arrive they find that the skies are eerily empty though scanning for some of Russia's best fighter aircraft to intercept like the s34 or S35 Allied aircraft instead established Communications and begin conducting close air support missions for garrisons surrounded by Russian troops but where is the Russian Air Force due to the intensity of Ukrainian air defense systems the Russian Air Force almost Categorically refuses to enter Frontline combat so what do they do instead of setting up rival combat air patrol stations or conducting strategic

strikes deep within NATO territory Russian combat Aviation instead hangs back behind the front lines and lobs air launched cruise missiles Into The Fray why they do this is for several reasons for one Ukraine has proven that Western anti-air defense systems are without a doubt the best in the world between the Variety of short Point defense systems to Patriot Iris and everything in between Russia's Air Force has suffered heavy losses to these systems and cannot afford to take much more this is because the high sauty rate in Ukraine has put excessive hours on Russian aircraft frames

and make them capable of flying Less hours in addition Russian Pilots have less experience dog fighting than their NATO counterparts due to serving as missile Robbers for the last few Years the new pilots do not get training to fight like Western Pilots instead as NATO aircraft enter polish and Baltic airspace the sky a void of Russian aircraft but thick with anti-air defenses and missile fire because Putin wants to preserve his Air Force he holds them back behind this massive screen of air defense systems while some Allied aircraft are able to score hits on these missile

sights the strength and depth of enemy air defenses which includes Missile SES within Russia and bellarus that fire with impunity start wreaking havoc among NATO aircraft though NATO Air Force commanders asked to fire on these Sam sites in Russia and Belarus the Supreme Allied Commander orders them to stand down for now at this moment they want to limit this war to include only the borders of NATO countries and not fire into Russia or Belarus however NATO headquarters in Brussels calls an emergency meeting with European heads of State to discuss a Way Forward during this conference

call President Biden alongside most NATO Partners agreed that us and NATO forces should not fire into Russia or bellarus while some disagree like the heads of state of Estonia lvia and Lithuania the reasoning is that the war should be limited to the confines of NATO territory and not Russia or bellarus to give Putin the propaganda victory of somehow saying NATO had attacked Russian territory first to Justify The Invasion instead the Supreme headquarters decided to send a naval Force to the baltics to provide air cover for its Fighters so they could attack Russian columns up in

the North Sea the orders arrive at the flagship of the standing NATO Maritime group to make best speed for the baltics the transit to get there will take just over 2 days until their AIS missile system can be enrange to start detecting missiles and shooting them down but the Russian Navy Has other plans due to the emissions control conditions set by this surface Action Group Russian forces in kaliningrad were unable to get an accurate Fire Control solution with missiles instead they sent orders to their submarines to take out any Allied warships making their way to

the baltics these orders reached the commander of a yassen class submarine and she picks up the Acoustics of Warships nearby the yassen class submarine is one of the Most advanced submarines in the Russian Arsenal due to its heavy armaments of torpedoes and Crews missiles and its stealth technology it's very difficult for any ship to pick up on her as the lead ship of the formation closes her the Russian submarine fires a spread of torpedoes the sailors on board the American Destroyer have just seconds to react before several Torpedoes close in on her wake and slam

into her Stern though the sailors on the Russian Submarine rejoice in their first kill of the war they do not know that they are now the hunted ones the other ships in company pick up on the Acoustics of the enemy submarine and begin to close in a circling p8 Poseidon aircraft along with two mh6 Romeo helicopter equipped with dipping sonar begin Prosecuting her position within a matter of minutes the crew of a nearby Destroyer has a positive firing control solution and conducts an urgent attack on the Russian Sub before she knows it three Torpedoes come

at her and the Russian sub tries to do an emergency dive to avoid them however it's too late on board the American Destroyer the sonar technicians hear the sound of four underwater explosions on the surface oil slick and human remains float to the surface the American Navy has now drawn First Blood as the US and NATO ships of snegam 1 resume their transit to the Baltic Sea the situation on the ground is becoming Grave in the baltics Russia committed about 100,000 soldiers to each of its objectives on the ground NATO troops are outnumbered by a

factor of almost 4 to1 the Russian armored columns began advancing toward them after the little green men pushed through the initial border areas however due to the chaos of the situation The Defenders are able to form hunter killer teams to take out Russian armor columns due to the abundance of Javelin and other personal Anti-tank weapons as NATO troops begin to take out more Russian armored vehicles it appears they have the upper hand as Russian armored convoys are attacked from the sides in the rear they stop and Dismount their infantry to take out NATO anti-tank Gunners

harassing them when they do so the columns become vulnerable to Precision fires in the form of Excalibur GPS guided artillery shells High Mars rockets and other Advanced weapons as us and NATO forward Observers call in these fire missions on exposed Russian columns they watch in anticipation as they see and hear rounds coming in however what happens next surprises them as round after round of GPS guided Munitions falling close to the Russians it appears that in the last moments these rounds fly wildly off course while some of them hit close enough to cause casualties the bulk

of the Russian columns remain untouched but how can this be as the war in Ukraine Has demonstrated the Russian military has proven itself capable of learning from at least some of its mistakes one of these critical mistakes was not having enough protection for its unit from Precision guided Munitions as a result of being pummeled by Ukraine for the last couple of years Russia has actually invested heavily in new electronic warfare technology that's been capable of defeating some Western weapons reports from Ukraine have shown That in some cases the effectiveness of Western Precision guided weapons fell

below 10% as a result of Russian jamming because of this Putin has mandated that all important Russian formations and objectives be shielded with GPS Jammers to render these Western weapons useless however he failed to realize that electronic warfare has other spectrums too Russian Communications is one of the spectrums that the US and their NATO allies soon exploit as their performance In Ukraine is shown the Russian military is practically incapable of securing their Communications or using proper Emissions Control techniques to mask their plans there exists online literally thousands of hours of recorded phone calls by Russian

soldiers on unencrypted Commercial cell phones discussing sensitive military operations in addition to this Russian troops frequently communicate in the clear on radio frequencies that are unencrypted While they do change radio frequencies often there is also evidence of Ukrainian civilians intercepting Russian Communications and harassing them while these make for some good internet comedy this inability to communicate securely has real world consequences Russian troops in the baltics soon learn that their air defenses have beaten back Allied planes for now NATO soldiers know exactly where Russian formations are since they do not even attempt to hide Their Communications

with this realtime in intelligence us and NATO troops conduct numerous fire missions with traditional tube artillery self-propelled artillery and mortars to at least delay if not stop Russian advances though outnumbered for now troops in the baltic's no help is on the way due to the mobilization of NATO's rapid response Force hour eight since the Russian invasion began just after Dawn the defenders in the baltics have Successfully prevented the Russians from making major gains though vnas is within range of Russia's artillery rockets and other indirect fire systems the capitals of Estonia and lvia remain free from

Attack since the fighting is still concentrated within 20 km of the Border or at least NATO thought throughout the day Russian transport helicopters have made their way through a hail of NATO air defenses to land Elite airborne and Spar Special Forces at airports just Outside all three capitals on the ground local garrisons have brought down large numbers of helicopters from short-range Man portable systems like stinger and star streak however enough helicopters have made it through to land inside each Capital the goal of these Airborne operations is simple the Russians hope to surprise the Defenders and

overwhelm them in a sharp quick action once done they will radio for more waiting for transports to fly in larger numbers of Paratroopers and conventional infantry to establish a land bridge in the city so that the Russians can now attack from two directions but there is a problem with that because this is the same tactic Russia tried in keev the NATO troops defending in the baltics anticipated this move and have been preparing to shoot them down through withering ground fire a few helicopters managed to land at each airport however in short order the attackers are

wiped Out by infantry stationed at the airport mopping up operations will continue for several more hours but the immediate danger is now over but where are the reinforcements back in Poland the bulk of the 100,000 NATO troops have received their equipment and are on the March towards the salki Gap Russia for its part conducted a two-pronged Invasion from both kaliningrad and bellarus to shock The Defenders there and rapidly seize the Gap to begin fortifying before Help could arrive stationed in the Gap are about 30,000 polish and NATO soldiers well armed with hundreds of Tanks armored

fighting vehicles and air support from several nearby air bases however during the initial bombardment this area bore the brunt of the bulk of Russia's short and medium-range missiles from multiple angles as a result units stationed here suffered moderately High casualties in the first hours that have degraded their combat Effectiveness Making the situation worse is the fact that Russian air defenses have essentially created a wall of Ste that's been difficult for Allied Air Forces to penetrate as a result the forces here are largely on their own and face the largest number of Russian and private military

troops as they attempt to stem the tide of the invasion but they do have one thing on their side due to the terrain the area is heavily forested and there are not many major roads due to This the Russians are forced to use the few roads there are for their armored vehicles which makes them easy targets for indirect fire and anti-tank teams but despite inflicting heavy casualties the Russians rapidly ad Advanced due to overwhelming numerical superiority at this point us and NATO commanders have a decision to make with the Navy still almost a day away

there will not be enough top cover to protect Allied planes from attack and with the 100,000 Strong response Force still about half a day away drawing equipment from pnan the commanders decide that the best course of action is to wait and stay where they are though they cannot trade space for time they simply have no other option back in Brussels the US and NATO leaders decide to hold a highlevel war council about what to do next it's agreed that as previously stated at The vilnia Summit in 2023 the baltics will not be abandoned to be

retaken at a later date Instead the strategy is to hold the area for as long as possible until reinforcements arrive from North America and the UK in the meantime NATO countries agreed to mobilize 25% of their militaries for war and place them under a unified American command with such a decision the us would have 850,000 Personnel 881 fighter aircraft over 3,000 tanks and 687 ships among other equipment once assembled these forces will begin an immediate counter Offensive while the bulk of the US military arrives from North America to provide a strategic reserve and much needed

Firepower after deciding on a firm course of action President Biden informs Congress that the United States is invoking Article 5 of the NATO treaty and that the country is now in a state of war with Russia he then asks the Congress to officially vote on the matter in an unusual sign of bipartisan support report Congress declares war on Russia and states that the war will end only when all NATO territory has been regained with war now being declared the president has numerous Powers he could choose to mobilize the country among these is requisitioning the 181

ships of the US Merchant Marine to be under the control of the military seift command also in his power is the ability to Charter Commercial cargo planes for military use overnight FedEx ups and the Postal Service are all mandated to carry Military cargo to help Ferry the Invasion Force to Europe but the question is will there be anything left to defend once they get there day one in the first 24 hours after the start of the invasion the Russian military made some decent progress It's currently about 10 km from vnas and the city is experiencing

intense indirect fire and air attacks in lvia and Estonia the Russian gains have been greater since the NATO force of about 10 brigades has Had to defend an area the size of West Germany as a result the furthest to fielded Russian units have made it about 30 km but there is just one problem because Russia anticipated to have advanced much further than it did Russian commanders had not stocked units with enough fuel and ammunition since they had planned on capturing NATO stocks with Russia still fixed in place to contain Ukrainian forces not enough fuel and

ammunition has been spared with Russian supply lines dangerously exposed from their rail heads in Northwest Russia and Belarus truck convoys must continually make trips to the front lines to deliver supplies and this is where Russian command and control hurts the them due to having just two serviceable Airborne early warning aircraft similar to the awax the A50 Russian commanders are blind to most of what's going on in front of them because of this Allied units are frequently able To fix Russian units in place with snipers and small squads while larger formations are able to flank around

and attack Russian troops from the side or rear because of these frequent ambushes senior Russian commanders become impatient and routinely head to the front lines to figure out what's going on due to their unencrypted Communications they become easy targets for Allied Gunners or aircraft despite this the Russian army continues to Advance since they're doing their best to bypass hardpoints and instead send second line conscripts and prisoners to fight positional battles while contract troops and private military contractors form the spearhead to push toward the capitals because of the Russians rapid advance in Lithuania the troops in

the salki Gap are quickly becoming surrounded on three sides fortunately help is on the way soon day two as snam one comes around Den Mark and makes a Beline for Poland the group has been continually harassed and attacked by Russian fighter aircraft thankfully though none of the missiles fired at us or NATO ships have hit due to how good agis has been but what scares us commanders is as they get closer to kaliningrad they will sail under a gauntlet of missile fire but thankfully the group has an ace up their sleeve because of the presence

of a US aircraft carrier the carrier aircraft comes Equipped with its own fighters Airborne early warning aircraft and electronic attack aircraft these electronic attack aircraft known as The fa18 Growler are equipped with electronic jamming pods and harm missiles which are radar seeking Munitions used to Target surface to Air and anti-ip cruise missile sites as the Cruisers and destroyers of the NATO strike group provide protection for The Growlers they close in on kaliningrad with one Mission clear the Way for the fighters and ships to go through as the growers near the exclave Russian fighter jets scramble

to meet them however land-based f-35s and f-22s join the Navy f-18s to established local Air superiority after Downing dozens of Russian aircraft The Growlers close in for the kill true to their mission their missiles homeing on radar sites all across the exclave making the Russians there virtually blind with the airlanes now clear the whole might of American Air power begins pounding the exclave every available type of aircraft begins dropping bombs by the end of the day the vast majority of their air defense missile sites have been destroyed their stockpiles of longrange missions have been wiped

out and the surviving Rush hold up in underground bunkers wait for the day to pass but that day would not come thanks to the Navy with the sea Lanes now clear from anti- ship cruise missiles the US Navy and its allies Clos In closer to shore though kaliningrad has been rendered combat ineffective Russian air defense sites still operate with impunity across Russian territory and bellarus because of this if Allied planes want to safely support the counter offensive the Navy will need to provide mobile air defense for them back on land the fight is not looking

good for NATO Russian for forces have advanced more than 60 km across the baltics and are now fighting in the Suburbs of vnas in the salki Gap NATO troops are doing their best to defend against a multi-axis attack however despite inflicting heavy losses on Russian troops fresh units are brought in from Belarus additional Russian units also drove right past vas and banked hard to the South to surround survivors in the area however Russia is doing its best to force them out with a brutal tactic because Russian combat Aviation does not like to engage in dog

fights They stick to fire support roles one of the main ways they have done this in recent years is through the use of cab 500 Glide bombs these bombs are thermobaric Munitions that create massive blasts that in the words of Ukrainian Defenders turn everything into Cinders with these nasty vacuum bombs Russian combat Aviation slowly dismantles NATO hardpoints and allows Russian troops to advance but they're still not there yet this is because the Advanced units of the 100,000 strong relief Force have made contact with the Enemy during their forced Road March us and NATO units forced

running gun battles with Russian forces as they made their way to the salki Gap however these units do not want to become encircled themselves and instead slow the pace of their Advance since it's unclear still if Russian troops will invade Poland from another direction to try and outflank the relief Force the slow Movement of the relief Force could spell disaster for the troops in the salki Gap with just 20 kmers left on either side of them before being cut off the danger of encirclement grows each day that is until the Navy arrives day three after

clearing the kinr exclave snam 1 has finally closed with Poland and the Baltic countries and is providing air defense support for Allied planes with more than 300 vertical launch cells between them all the Navy has done great Work shooting down threats heading towards Allied planes and Troop concentrations however this is not the only thing the Navy is doing with almost 20000 tomahawk missiles between them the Navy begins conducting fire missions on land to support the counter offensive Russian command and control centers repair depos armored columns troop concentrations and ammunition depos all become Prime targets for

Navy tomahawks however with the inability to reload Missiles at sea Navy ships have to choose their targets wisely in such a rich environment and though the Navy may have thought their part was done the Russians had a surprise for them while the Russians used Shad drones in the opening salvos and throughout the first few days of the war they now want to attack the US and NATO Fleet with a swarm attack never before seen in Naval Warfare launching hundreds of shahad drones at the fleet offshore the purpose Is not necessarily to sink the Allied Fleet

but to get them to expend enough ammunition to force them to pull back from the Baltic Sea for rearming throughout the third day the ships of the combined us NATO Fleet fight their hardest day at Sea yet hundreds of Shad drones swoop in and try to take them out after nearly 8 hours of continuous attacks the crews are exhausted and the damage to the fleet is extensive multiple ships suffered hits that caused Fires damaged equipment and killed or injured crew members because of this the Supreme Allied command ordered snam 2 to head towards the Baltic

at the best speed it was already doing so but it would take another half day to get there just in time for what the Russians wanted though not a surprise to the US the Baltic Sea Fleet of the Russian Navy has been shadowing the American Navy keeping outside of range the Russians have been waiting for the Shahed drone Attacks to weaken the US NATO Fleet before coming in for the kill knowing that help is on the way the Russians decide to strike the resulting engage is the largest naval battle since World War II more than

60 ships and several hundred aircraft participate throughout the day Russian ships launch missile after missile at the US ships with just seconds to respond the US Fleet shoots down most but some ships weakened by previous battle damage or out of Missiles are lost thankfully as it appears the US forces might be dumb for the second strike group arrives within range and begins firing Naval Strike missiles along with agm-158 joint air to surface standoff missiles the Bal Fleet is quickly turned into sinking Hulks and breaks engagement with the US Fleet with us submarines pursuing the survivors

to keep them away us and NATO ships now rule the Baltic Sea day four after the US Navy won the day yesterday the Victory is shortlived back in the salki Gap American commanders are faced with a difficult decision with us and NATO troops now surrounded on three sides Supreme Allied headquarters makes the difficult decision to abandon the salki Gap and reconstitute the survivors with the now fully arrived red rapid response Force for a counter offensive but the baltics have not been abandoned in the baltics The Defenders continue to hold on to vnas as vicious street

fighting Continues in the north Estonian and Lithuanian Defenders have traded more time for space but still only have about 100 kmet left before Russians are knocking at the gates of the capital to bolster support for the baltics the Navy sends another strike group to provide around the-clock air cover and support for the Trap defenders in addition to this the Marine Corps and the Army do something that's not been seen since World War II with nearly 10,000 us and European Marines ready to go the decision is made to send them into the fight though Russia tries

to stop them the Marines land unopposed behind friendly lines and head towards the fight in addition to the Marines the US Army conducts the largest Airborne drop since World War II when the soldiers of the 173rd Airborne Brigade along with elements from other NATO countries launched the largest Airborne assault since World War II now with close to 20,000 reinforcements and a naval task force behind them The Defenders of the baltics fight even harder to hold on day seven since reinforcements have been sent to the baltics the situation is stabilized there Russian forces are advancing only

gradually now at just a kilometer or two per day but in some cases they are advancing just a few hundred M because of this Russian troops are digging in to defend the territory they have taken in Estonia and Latvia in Lithuania heavy street fighting continues scenes there are reminiscent of the battle for B mut with nearly every building destroyed by Shelf fire and Russian drones continually harassing Allied troops thankfully due to the support of the Navy NATO Air Forces totally dominate the skies with round thee clock close air support the bellea Defenders know that eventually

the Russians will give up Putin becomes increasingly frustrated with the Situation he sees the disaster that befell him trying to take keev happening again and the problem only gets worse when Ukraine does something unexpected agreeing to help relieve the pressure in Poland and the baltics Ukraine launches an unplanned counter defensive inan Russian forces there mostly conscripts and convicts stripped of heavy weapons and equipment for the fight in the baltics Flee for their lives the war in Ukraine is now a war of movement once More within a matter of days the Russian front line in kerson

collapsed due to the arrival of f-16s and a reinvigorated army that saw Victory as close at hand as the Russians abandon Kon oblast and flee to Crimea president zalinski asks for help in retaking Crimea since it's now or never however the us-led coalition denies this request but why at this moment Biden is still seeking to avoid this becoming a World War as it stands the Russians have already failed To take any major cities in the baltics and the rapid response force is making steady gains each day to retake the salki Gap with kaliningrad oblast being

neutralized as an offensive force and Ukraine regaining keran the president does not want to further escalate the war by assisting zeleni and retaking Crimea besides he couldn't even if he wanted to this is because turkey though NATO member still controls the bosor straight because of the montro agreement This Landmark agreement allows turkey to close off the Straits during times of War however despite turkey now being at war with Russia it too sees allowing NATO ships to retake Crimean land as too escalatory turkey also sees the writing on the wall and does not want to see

the damage come to the Black Sea since this would severely hurt the economies of several NATO members including Romania and Bulgaria however Ukraine is not the only other outside theater in this war Week two one week ago the American Fleet set sail for Europe the massive Convoy was loaded down with more than 100,000 soldiers Sailors Marines and Airmen from both the US and Canada due to the threat of Russian submarines the American Convoy which numbers around 100 ships including transports Oilers cargo vessels and warships did not travel in a straight line instead the force zigzags

erratically hoping to throw Russian firing control Solutions off however Despite having air cover from a carrier strike group several Russian submarines infiltrate the former and begin firing several cargo ships go down while American and Canadian warships fire Torpedoes and anti-submarine Rockets at their foes after a short battle The Joint US Canadian Force SNS several Russian submarines but as the Convoy continues to Europe us intelligence wonders how these submarines got so far into the Atlantic despite the naval blockade in the North Sea the answer to that is Africa since around 2019 Russia has been actively involved

in Africa though they have mainly kept a low profile for the first few years after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine started Russian PMC groups most notably Vagner began ramping up their efforts to caught any half with dictator and war criminal that would hear them out over the past several years Russian pmc's have seriously Ramped up or begun new quote unquote advising missions in countries like Libya Sudan the Central African Republic Mali and others the main reason for this is the economic exploitation of these countries where dictators give away key mining manufacturing publishing and other industries

that Russian oligarchs can take over of course Putin gets his fair share of the profits and this foreign cash especially gold and oil revenue is used to bolster his foreign Reserves and help sanction proof his Empire while the bulk of the attention in the media has been on Russian war crimes throughout Africa one thing that Western governments failed to notice was the massive buildup of Russian arms and bases in Libya Russia has recently courted the commander of the Libyan National Army the terrorist army fighting the true Libyan government to have a naval base it to

Brooke in exchange for money equipment and Fighters with a naval base on the Mediterranean the Russian Navy can send its submarines into the Atlantic while the bulk of the NATO alliance is fighting pitch Naval battles in the Baltic Sea or patrolling the Greenland Iceland UK Gap to prevent Baltic Sea submarines from accessing the North Atlantic this will have to be dealt with soon back on Mainland Europe the majority of the entire 300,000 rapid response Force has been issued equipment And has joined the fight the marine and paratrooper reinforcements have helped the Baltic Defenders great greatly

though the Russians continue to try and punch through NATO defenses there they run into a wall of Steel every time but there are a few problems a massive air Bridge must link Germany and Poland with the Trap defenders in the baltics to keep them supplied more than 1,000 us and NATO transport aircraft are mobilized for this effort to fly in Hundreds of tons of food fuel ammunition and medical supplies each day the Navy also regularly sends transports ashore to pick up the most seriously wounded and take them back to safety but this might all end

soon Russian air missile and drone attacks are constant they're trying their best to shake the Navy off the coast of Poland and the Baltic countries so their strikes can have more of an effect after nearly 2 weeks of almost constant combat the warships are Almost out of missiles with the inability to reload vertical launch systems at Sea the Supreme Ali command makes the difficult decision to withdraw much of the fleet to refit back in Rota Spain to reload their vs cells with the bulk of the Navy withdrawing the ground counter offensive loses moment though us

and NATO arms are of much higher quality than Russian troops the Russians do not have far to go from their depos in Belarus or Russia to Replenish the horrendous losses they are suffering on the battlefield however the advantage is still with the US and NATO due to Russia expending most of its Precision weapons in the first few weeks of the war it's low on Munitions that pose any real threat to Allied air power as a result us and NATO aircraft pound Russian positions day and night additionally US Special Forces including seals Delta Force rain ERS

and Marine Raiders alongside NATO partners are Wreaking havoc in Russian rear areas Al together with the combined power of the Allied air campaign the constant attacks on Russian rear areas High casualties and a breakdown in command and control the Invaders are forced to stop where they are and dig in week three by the third week the massive Allied Convoy of ships and personnel has arrived in Europe to avoid clogging up any one port the Convoy broke up into smaller ones these smaller detachments headed to Ports in Norway the Netherlands Italy and Greece from there they

begin disembarking and head towards pre-positioned Supply bases throughout Europe for decades the US and NATO forces have prepositioned supplies for just this very reason while the massive Convoy brings along huge quantities of armored vehicles ammunition food and other materials these Supply depos speed things along since soldiers at these depos have been working since day one of The invasion to get gear prepped and ready for these troops by the end of the week this massive Invasion Force has assembled and been issued their equipment now numbering almost 900,000 troops the US NATO alliance has more than twice

the numerical advantage on the Russians while Russian troops holding the swalk Gap and parts of the baltics might have on paper more tanks armored vehicles and artillery pieces most of their equipment does not work Has been destroyed or if serviceable is vastly inferior to Western Equipment the Russians are scrambling to consolidate their gains as the Allied Army consolidates for a final push to retake NATO territory according to Russian Doctrine they build three separate layers of Defense the first line of defense consists of deep mine belts with hastily dug slit trenches manned by conscripts and Prisoners

the Russians do not hope to hold there but have these Men sacrificed to slow down the US and NATO troops and inflict casualties the second line of defense consists of their best troops which include Airborne contract infantry soldiers and professionally trained volunteer groups Behind these positions is a third line consisting of fewer minefields and mostly a few hard points manned by units recovering from fighting or just newly arrived and waiting to be rotated into more forward positions the fight ahead Of the alliance is a tough one having to contend with masses of infantry dug in

tanks dense minefields electronic jamming systems drones and mass artillery bares this fight is nothing like the US has ever seen in its complexity or scale since World War II however as they push on and Advance Slowly by blasting Lanes through the minefields overhead us drones and air power pound Russian positions while artillery units conduct counter battery Fire to eliminate Russian indirect fires however as this massive operation unfolds another one is happening in the Mediterranean before disembarking in Greece and Italy the Allied command directed portions of the task force to take over to Brook Russian submarines

have been causing numerous casualties and with the bulk of the Navy reloading import there's little to stop them instead the US and NATO forces launch an amphibious raid onto Brook to render it Inoperable resistance during The Landings is minimal while some Russians do stand and fight their Libyan counterparts run for their lives once a toore the Marines capture several Russian submarines still M alongside several others have partially sunk due to Preparatory fires from the Navy and Air Force after the Marines blow up the captured Russian submarines the Allied command makes the decision to occupy to

Brook for now with the counter offensive Underway the Allied armies will need large amounts of equipment and supplies the sea Lanes must be secured week four after several days of hard fighting and heavy casualties us and NATO forces have broken through the first defensive lines and punched a few holes in the second as Russia scrambles to send reinforcements to the salki Gap they divert resources from the baltics sensing an opportunity the NATO Defenders launched their own vicious Counterattack which catches the Russians by surprise but this is not the only Counterattack this week in Ukraine the

Ukrainian military has completely liberated KERO blast and has started a new offensive in the East with the bulk of the Russian forces transferred for the invasion of Eastern Europe the DPR and LPR militias have been left largely to fend for themselves Ukrainian forces easily punch through their lines and begin retaking territory not held since before 2014 with Allied armies Counterattacking across every front Putin knows the writing is on the wall with his army unable to take any of the Baltic capitals the loss of KERO blast the loss of T Brook the loss of his Baltic

Sea Fleet and the imminent defeat on the battlefield in Poland he knows there are not very many ways to spin this as a victory back home however Putin does not want to give in and instead wants to double down his efforts though PU Putin has avoided General Mobilization he consults his trusted siloviki about what to do now they urge him to pull back what remains of Russian forces in the baltics and Poland before they get cut off and destroyed they try to convince him that they can spin this as having taught NATO a lesson and

maybe they can negotiate for what territory they still hold in Ukraine but Putin is having none of it instead he doubles down that he wants to declare General mobilization and commit the Russian People to a generation of War that's when the siliki turned the tables on Putin this group of Russ a dozen men carry out Putin's will in Russia and can control the military police and intelligence Services they unanimously threaten Putin that if he does not back down now something might happen to him like what happened to yevi progan sensing that he's lost control Putin

gives in and tells the siloviki he will ask for a ceasefire Putin calls an Emergency meeting with Allied headquarters in Brussels he wants a ceasefire in which Russian troops will maintain their current positions however the Allies want none of that they tell him that unless Russia withdraws from from all NATO territory back to the international border they will continue the offensive until that goal is achieved when he asks if he can keep the territory in Ukraine the answer is a resounding no the US directs Putin to Withdraw all his forces back to the international borders

before the 2014 annexation if he does not the war will continue with a us-led offensive that will force him to do so fearing that he would face more unrest at home due to General mobilization than losing illegally gained territory Putin agrees though the war is now over Putin assures his inner circle that he will not give up until he is dead whether he will actually live to see that day is now Anyone's guess but what do you think could the strategies outline actually play out this way or would there be unexpected twists and turns