NATO ready for 'direct confrontation’ with Putin's Russia, top admiral warns

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The military armaments NATO nations have sent to Ukraine come from those nation's own national defense inventory.
Thus, while supplementing Ukraine's own military capability it would seem there's a corresponding depletion of the donor NATO member's own military defense capability.

Nato ready for 'direct confrontation’ with Putin's Russia, top admiral warns​

Rob Bauer replied 'we are ready' when asked if the US-led organisation was prepared for a confrontation with Russia.​

Jimmy Nsubuga Tue, January 31, 2023

Nato is ready for a "direct confrontation" with Russia, a top admiral has warned.
Rob Bauer, chair of the Nato Military Committee, said "we are ready” when asked if the US-led organisation was prepared for a confrontation with Vladimir Putin's regime amid the war in Ukraine.
But he stressed he did not think there would be a nuclear conflict between the two military powers as Putin was "not insane" and was still a "rational" person.
Bauer also told Portugal's RTP TV channel that Nato would only respond if Russia crossed a red line by invading a Nato member state.

Admiral Rob Bauer said 'we are ready' when asked if Nato was prepared for a confrontation with Russia. (Getty Images)
Bauer said Nato had started moving battle groups along the eastern front and had created four more battle groups following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
He said this was an important message for Moscow to show Nato's posture had changed.
It comes after Ukraine secured pledges from the West in January to supply main battle tanks to help fend off Russia's full-scale invasion.

Nato ready for 'direct confrontation’ with Putin's Russia, top admiral warns

Rob Bauer replied 'we are ready' when asked if the US-led organisation was prepared for a confrontation with Russia.

news.yahoo.com

Will Ukraine be flying F-16's or other military aircraft from NATO before Ukraine completes the expulsion of Russian military forces from its sovereign territory?

 

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NATO leaders predict era of 2% defense spending 'probably history' as Trump reportedly floats higher target​

Report claims Trump wants all NATO nations to increase spending commitments from 2% GDP to 5%​

By Caitlin McFall Fox News / Published December 23, 2024 5:19pm EST
A group of four NATO leaders and a representative from the European Union on Sunday said they agreed it was time to invest more in defense spending as Russia remains a chief security threat in Europe amid the war in Ukraine, and as Western leaders brace for the incoming Trump administration.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis argued the era of spending 2% of a nation’s GDP on defense was "probably history" but he, along with the other four leaders in attendance at the North-South Summit in Lapland, Finland fell short of saying what that figure should look like.

NATO leaders predict era of 2% defense spending 'probably history' as Trump reportedly floats higher target

European leaders are making clear ahead of the Trump presidency that they plan to spend more on defense as Russia remains a top threat and as security concerns in the Middle East and North Africa escalate.

www.foxnews.com

"There's no more extravagant waste than a 2nd rate military." Gen. Horner

True.
BUT !
This does not fundamentally negate the underlying guns : butter formula.
Spending more on defense than necessary to preserve national sovereignty depletes resources that could be invested otherwise, domestic infrastructure for example.


"We know that we need to spend more than 2%," Mitsotakis said. "But it will become very clear… once we interact with the new president, what is the figure that we will agree on within NATO."

NATO leaders predict era of 2% defense spending 'probably history' as Trump reportedly floats higher target

European leaders are making clear ahead of the Trump presidency that they plan to spend more on defense as Russia remains a top threat and as security concerns in the Middle East and North Africa escalate.

www.foxnews.com

Mitsotakis: you think the standard by which NATO should calibrate its military spending is "the new president"?! Trump is rather more among the last that should be considered for this.

And an important addition:
This is not advocating forfeiture of national sovereignty by NATO member nations. It's acknowledgement that coordinating defense posture & spending across the international organization can:
- help reduce needless duplication between NATO members
- help identify and address deficiencies / vulnerabilities not obvious at national level, but a threat / risk to NATO as a whole.

"Will Ukraine be flying F-16's or other military aircraft from NATO before Ukraine completes the expulsion of Russian military forces from its sovereign territory?" s #1

Yes.
It took a while. Too long in the opinion of some. Too little, too late, with too many restrictions?

Prospects looking grim for Ukraine.
Biden engineered what resembles stalemate. Trump appears to favor Putin over Zelenskyy.
Those that understand Russia / Putin's intentions understand Ukraine is not the final objective in Russian military conquest. If Russia secures some or all of Ukraine, which nation is next, in Russia's Westward military encroachment?
Not only should Western European leaders understand this. They're the ones vulnerable to Russian expanding military aggressions / conquests.
Yet support for Zelenskyy / Ukraine is reportedly fizzling among NATO's more influential European leaders, as the globe faces another four year Trump presidency.

 

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"Nato ready for 'direct confrontation’ with Putin's Russia, top admiral warns" Nsubuga #1​

"Ready" but unwilling?

NATO allies clash after Russian jets breach airspace, testing alliance resolve​

Secretary General Rutte and Estonian PM Michal disagree over Article 4 consultation requests, sources say​

By Morgan Phillips Fox News / Published October 1, 2025 7:00 pm EDT
EXCLUSIVE: Recent Russian incursions into NATO airspace have sharpened divisions inside the alliance over how to respond, exposing both the strength and the limits of collective defense.
Secretary General Mark Rutte clashed with Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal last week after Estonia invoked NATO’s Article 4 clause, which triggers consultations when a member feels its security is threatened.
According to three European officials granted anonymity to speak freely, Rutte argued that repeated invocations risked diluting the treaty’s force. One source said he even raised his voice at Michal, warning that NATO must be cautious about how often it signals alarm.
Rutte argued that if Article 4 were invoked every time Russia violated sovereignty — through drone incursions, fighter jets, cyberattacks and more — it would quickly lose impact, according to the officials.

NATO allies clash after Russian jets breach airspace, testing alliance resolve

Russian incursions into NATO airspace are fueling divisions among allies, with some warning that repeated Article 4 signals risk weakening deterrence without real action.

www.foxnews.com

Feeble NATO resolve has already been demonstrated.

The phrase is adapted from a statement found in Roman author Publius Flavius Vegetius Renatus's tract Dē Rē Mīlitārī (fourth or fifth century AD), in which the actual phrasing is: Igitur quī dēsīderatpācem, præparet bellum - "Therefore let him who desires peace prepare for war".

NATO's cowardly message to Russia's Putin is painfully, shamefully clear. NATO is willing to nudge Ukraine along, but only to continuing stalemate.
Putin recognizes this, and so now probes NATO sovereign territory, so far without military penalty.

Continued NATO indecisive hand-wringing is bad enough.
But in context of President Trump / Secretary Hegseth's trimming the general officer corps:

It marked the first time generals from around the world had been summoned to convene with the secretary, and many had expected closed-door announcements on trimming the general officer corps, drawing down forces in the Middle East and Europe or cutting civilian and contractor roles.
War Secretary Pete Hegseth delivered a blunt message to military leaders from around the globe this week: Get fit, get on board with the Trump agenda or get out.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/co...acts-hegseths-get-fit-get-line-get-out-speech

It is a confluence of sovereignty-threatening peril for the United States, with simultaneous self-inflicted diminution of U.S. national defense capability.

For those that wish to displace a good night's sleep with anxiety-fraught alarm, Putin's military adventurism is sufficient.

 

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#3

It's not just airspace.

Denmark reports repeated Russian naval provocations in its straits​

Fri, October 3, 2025 at 8:49 AM EDT
COPENHAGEN (Reuters) -Russian warships have repeatedly sailed on collision courses, aimed weapons at Danish naval vessels and disrupted navigation systems in Denmark's straits that connect the Baltic Sea to the North Sea, its defence intelligence service said on Friday.
Such incidents risk unintended escalation, it said.

The Baltic region remains on high alert after incidents involving undersea cables, gas pipeline outages, airspace violations and drone sightings since Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, which increased tensions between Moscow and the West.
Denmark, a staunch supporter of Ukraine in its war with Russia, has beefed up its military budget and committed to acquiring long-range precision weapons capable of striking targets inside Russia.
"We have seen several incidents in the Danish straits, where Danish air force helicopters and naval vessels have been targeted by tracking radars and physically pointed at with weapons from Russian warships," Danish Defence Intelligence Service Director Thomas Ahrenkiel told a press conference.

Denmark reports repeated Russian naval provocations in its straits

COPENHAGEN (Reuters) -Russian warships have repeatedly sailed on collision courses, aimed weapons at Danish naval vessels and disrupted navigation systems in Denmark's straits that connect the Baltic Sea to the North Sea, its defence intelligence service said on Friday. Such incidents risk...

news.yahoo.com

"We learn from history that we do not learn from history." Hegel

As Hitler was solidifying political power domestically, and preparing for global conquest in WWII, Prime Minister Chamberlain has been misquoted as characterizing negotiation with Hitler - peace in our time - .
Some scholarly opinion claims the correct quotation is: "Peace for our time" British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, 30 September 1938

Appeasing Hitler level / Putin level military aggression merely sows the seed of future disaster. The best time to snuff out a wildfire is while it's still on the match.