NATO must not repeat mistake of misjudging Putin’s goals — former U.S. envoy

This view was expressed by U.S. diplomat and former ambassador to Ukraine Steven Pifer in an interview with Studio West host Antin Borkovskyi on Espreso TV.

"NATO countries in the Baltic region and in the Nordic area are now, I believe, very concerned about a potential Russian military threat.

You also see other NATO countries such as Britain, Germany, and France that have begun to take serious steps to build up their military capabilities because they are concerned that Russia may go further, that Vladimir Putin's ambitions may not stop with Ukraine," Pifer noted.

According to him, when it comes to discussions about Russia’s future plans or whether Putin would dare attack a NATO member, most Western experts today say he would never attack a country like Estonia. They believe it would be illogical.

"I would add an important qualifier. If you had asked those same experts in 2018 or 2019 whether Vladimir Putin would launch the kind of full-scale invasion of Ukraine that he did in 2022, they would have said no, he would not do that, that it would be unthinkable.

There is a real risk for NATO. There is a risk for the United States. There is a risk for the broader West in underestimating Vladimir Putin's ambitions. That is why I believe it is critical for the West to take meaningful steps to ensure its security. And I would argue that this includes helping Ukraine defend itself, because Ukraine’s defense of its own territory is also, in my view, a defense of the West," the diplomat stressed.

• On June 10, Germany’s Federal Intelligence Service chief Bruno Kahl warned that Russia intends to test NATO’s resolve and expand its confrontation with the West beyond Ukraine.
• On June 30, Major General Vadym Skibitskyi, deputy head of Ukraine’s military intelligence, said Russia could begin a new phase of aggression against a NATO country as early as 2030.