(DCWatchdog.com) – As the troops of Russian leader Vladimir Putin continue to maul Ukraine, concerns are growing that the Moscow tyrant might invade the rest of Europe, causing the US-led NATO military alliance to strengthen itself.
Putin invaded Ukraine, a democratic nation the size of Texas, with 200,000 troops on February 24 in a bid to restore the former Communist Soviet Union.
The Ukrainians have resisted ferociously, largely thanks to US-supplied weapons, and have already killed more than 36,000 Russian soldiers (more than 70,000 if mercenaries and proxies are counted), and have destroyed more than 10,000 pieces of Russian military equipment such as tanks, warplanes and armored vehicles.
Yet, for the time being, Putin has refused to mobilize the Russian population for war, and his Soviet-era arms stockpiles still contain countless amounts of weaponry.
The Moscow dictator may decide to recreate Russia’s old imperial domain, many European nations, which are US allies, now fear, according to a report by News.com.au.
A warning to that end was contained in Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s recent video message to the leaders of the 30 NATO member states.
“The Russian army… wants to absorb… all in Europe that the Russian leadership considers its property – not independent states. This is Russia’s real goal,” Zelenskyy warned.
“There will be either urgent help for Ukraine – enough to win – or Russia’s postponed war with you. Next year could be a worse situation – not only Ukraine, but also several other states. Possibly members of the alliance. The question is — who is next?” he elaborated.
The worries that Putin’s Russia could start lunging at other European nations has led Finland and Sweden, who had been militarily neutral until now, to join the NATO alliance and become official US allies.
Among those immediately threatened is Finland with its 800-mile long border with Russia; Sweden, which borders Russia through the Baltic Sea; the three small Baltic nations of Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia; and key US ally Poland, to mention but a few.
Besides Sweden and Finland’s accession to NATO, the fears that Putin’s Russia could invade more nations have led to a decision of the alliance to boost the presence of American and other NATO troops all over Eastern Europe.
