Russian forces have been unable to make significant gains on the battlefield in Ukraine, meaning Moscow is unlikely to pose a serious military threat to NATO in the near term, US Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker said.
“Russia is currently bogged down in Ukraine. It has been unable to make any progress on the battlefield, so the threat it poses to NATO in the near term is minimal,” the US diplomat said.
At the same time, Whitaker warned against underestimating the Kremlin’s unpredictability. In his view, Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and illegal annexation of Crimea have demonstrated Moscow’s willingness to resort to aggression.
“The invasion of Ukraine and the annexation of Crimea give us reason to believe that Russia can be unpredictable and may be prepared to take action against a NATO member state,” Whitaker stressed.
