U.S./NATO Sees No Russian Threat of Attack on NATO’s Eastern Flank

Feb. 8, 2022 (EIRNS)—There is no direct threat to NATO’s Eastern Flank from Russia. That is the assessment both from the Pentagon and from NATO itself. U.S. Defense Department spokesman John Kirby told reporters at the Pentagon yesterday that he sees “No specific or additional threats in terms of directly from Russia to NATO’s Eastern Flank. We do, however, continue to see sizable forces continue to be added to the forces that Mr. Putin has arrayed in the south and Crimea, and alongside Ukraine’s borders, including in Belarus. But nothing directly posed at or aimed at NATO’s Eastern Flank.”

Adm. Rob Bauer (Netherlands), the chairman of NATO’s Military Committee, spoke similarly during a visit to Vilnius, Lithuania. “If you look at the posture of Russian troops in Belarus, then yes, you have to consider militarily, whether it is a threat to the Baltic states and, more particularly, to Lithuania,” he told reporters on Feb. 7, according to RT. “But then, of course, you have to look at the intent as well,” he added. “Is there [any] indication that the Russians or Belarus have an intention to hurt the Baltic states, and particularly Lithuania?” According to Bauer, NATO does not see Moscow’s “intent” to strike, nor does the organization “expect an attack on NATO soil by Russia—either directly or via Belarus.”