By Eric Vandenbroeck and co-workers

Putin Threatens The West With "Special Ammunition"

In March, Donald Tusk, Poland's prime minister, said Europe was in a "prewar" era and that if Russia defeated Ukraine, it could spell trouble for the security of the continent.

"I don't want to scare anyone, but war is no longer a concept from the past," Tusk said in an interview with several European media outlets. "It is real. It already started more than two years ago," referring to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

It's one of a series of increasingly stark warnings that the war in Ukraine could be a prelude to a much bigger conflict.

German military-planning documents that leaked in January laid out a scenario where Russia launched a massive 2024 offensive to take advantage of waning Western support in Ukraine.

The documents, obtained by Bild, said Russia could then turn its sights on NATO members in Eastern Europe as it seeks to destabilize its enemies through cyberattacks and internal chaos.

Late last year, Poland's national-security agency said Russia could launch attacks on NATO countries within three years.

He alluded to a suggestion by France's president Emmanuel Macron that NATO could send troops to Ukraine to support its fight against Russia.

Geopolitical analysts told Business Insider that Russia has been weakened by the war in Ukraine and is in no position to attack a NATO state.

But Putin is playing a long game, and the outcome of the Ukraine war and Russia's long-standing bid to corrode NATO will be key factors in determining whether Russia wants to attack.

 

Putin Plots To Corrode NATO

Philip Ingram, a former UK military intelligence officer, told BI that Putin has one key advantage over many of his enemies.

Democratically elected Western leaders often make plans that are mindful of elections that take place around every four years; Putin is an authoritarian with no serious challengers to his power,  that means he can look decades ahead

"He does not want, at this moment, a confrontation with NATO," Ingram said. "But he thinks differently and plans in a different way to we do in the West, and therefore the way NATO countries do."

"So, his ambition in growing is not going to be that he will attack NATO and NATO countries next year, but he will set the conditions to be able to," he added.

He added: "As for fighting Putin, in other words, fighting Russia...I don't have a printable response except maybe this one. David, you'd better watch what you say. Otherwise... No, I won't say that. It would also sound obscene ."

Although it's unclear which statements made by Cameron Medvedev is specifically referring to, the foreign secretary spoke about the Russia-Ukraine war on Thursday in a speech, stating that a tougher stance is needed against Putin's efforts

"We need to adopt a harder edge for a tougher world. If Putin's illegal invasion teaches us anything, it must be that doing too little, too late only spurs an aggressor on. This cannot go on. We need to be tougher and more assertive," Cameron said.

Meanwhile, in response to Medvedev's remarks a UK government spokesperson said in an email to Newsweek on Sunday evening that its government will continue to work with allies to "deter and defend" against all threats coming from Russia.

"Russia poses an acute threat to our national security. The Government takes its obligation to protect our people, places, and values, very seriously. We will actively deter and defend against the full spectrum of threats emanating from Russia, working in partnership with our allies," the spokesperson said.

This is not the first time Russia has taken aim at Cameron's comments over the Russia-Ukraine war.

Last week, the Kremlin fired back at the U.K. over statements made by Cameron during an official visit to Kyiv in which he appeared to give a green light to Ukraine using newly supplied British weapons on targets inside Russia.

"Ukraine has that right. Just as Russia is striking inside Ukraine, you can quite understand why Ukraine feels the need to make sure it's defending itself," Cameron said.

The U.K. is one of Europe's top suppliers of military assistance to Ukraine in the war. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has also vowed to continue supporting Kyiv "for as long as it takes."

In response, Dmitry Peskov, Putin's press secretary, told RIA Novosti, Russia's state news agency, referencing Cameron's remarks, that it was "another very dangerous statement."

"We see such a verbal escalation on the part of official representatives. We also see at the level of heads of state—when it concerns France, and at a more expert level—when it concerns Great Britain. These are direct escalations of tension around the Ukrainian conflict, which potentially may pose a danger to European security, to the entire security architecture of Europe," he added.

Meanwhile, Andriy Sadovyi, mayor of the city of Lviv in Western Ukraine, said on X, that Cameron's remarks on the use of British weapons in Russia "bolster our hopes."

Medvedev, deputy chairman of the Security Council of Russia and close ally to Putin took to X, formerly Twitter, to respond to comments made by Cameron, who served as U.K. prime minister from 2010 to 2016, as he seemingly threatened to deliver a response with "special ammunition."

"A certain Mr. Cameron has called for fighting Putin to the bitter end...Bear in mind that those who handle the Storm Shadow/SCALP-EG cruise missiles are not the halfwits dressed in embroidered shirts, but the British and French. Under certain circumstances, the response will be delivered not only to Kyiv, and it won't contain plain explosives but special ammunition as well," he wrote.

 

 

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