No matter what anyone says, there is only one scenario in which Russia dares to make this move, but the first step should be made by the EU and not Russia. A scenario in which the EU and the US at this very second will introduce the maximum possible package of sanctions, something like a sanction against North Korea. In the meantime, the EU and the US act with caution by introducing phased sanctions against Russia, Ukrainians have nothing to fear.
Russia supplies 11% of the world's oil and supplies much of Europe's natural gas. It is simply not possible to impose that level of sanctions against Russia.
Maybe Paul Manafort will get called in to help a pro Russian candidate get elected to office in one of the Baltic states.
Maybe Putin should consider hiring Hunter Biden to get a favorable response to any Russian aggression in the region.
Latvia and Lithuania are some of the countries that will be next.
Arent these countries under protection of NATO? Starting annexation, invasion, war will trigger massive war actions on the whole territory of Europe. And with the current weaponry, there will be no winner in this war.
I don't think Putin is daring enough to try to invade either country, or even position military forces in a way that might look like he is going to invade either country.
Russian troops know they can win a war against Ukraine. The same is not true with NATO. Trying to position itself to attack a county it cannot win may result in troops abandoning their posts in large numbers, which would threaten Putin's grip on power.
Reality has little to do with the perception of team 'Lets go Brandon'. With a steady diet of right wing media anything Biden, and by extension in this case the West in general, does will be weak. And they're tip toeing up to the line of showing admiration openly for the way Putin gets things done. Trump has already signaled it's ok to admire Putins ways. He has for years, of course, but never while Putin was literally invading an ally unprovoked.
Putin never invaded any country while Trump was in office. He pretty much started getting his troops into position as soon as Biden was elected.
There appear to be air strikes and/or bombings in Kiev.
