Recent months have shown that due to the failure of its blitzkrieg in Ukraine, the Kremlin has changed its strategy and is now betting on the weakening and disintegration of NATO. This is what the British publication The Telegraph writes, analyzing the geopolitical situation in Europe, the UNIAN agency reported.
According to the author of the publication, Vladimir Putin has set himself the goal “to break NATO and identify the alliance’s weaknesses.” The military setback in Ukraine has somewhat reduced the immediate threat to Poland and the Baltic states, but now Russia is looking for NATO’s weak spot. The Balkans, which The Telegraph calls NATO’s weakest flank, are likely to be the next point of escalation triggered by Moscow.
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Last week, a group of armed Serbs ambushed a Kosovo police patrol, which ultimately resulted in the deaths of one police officer and three Serbs. This escalation is one of the most serious since 2008, when Kosovo declared independence from Serbia.
“Such escalation is Moscow’s dream. Serbia and Russia have been preparing the Serbs for an escalation in Kosovo for months, stoking tensions in the Balkans to divert the West’s attention from the war in Ukraine. They have flooded the information space with propaganda that repeats old claims that Kosovo belongs to Serbia,” the publication notes.
Now Russia is actively using this event in its foreign policy rhetoric, accusing the West of fueling the conflict in the Balkans. By operating through hybrid methods without sending troops to the region, Putin seeks to achieve three goals: distract Western attention from Ukraine, strengthen Moscow’s position in the region, and give Putin leverage over Western countries by blackmails with the threat of escalation of the conflict in the Balkan region.
The Serbian attack on the Kosovo patrol is somewhat reminiscent of how Russia sent “green men” to Ukraine, ties with which were officially denied. “Another crisis in Kosovo could easily spill over into North Macedonia, a NATO member state, and would have serious implications for European defense at a time when the US is distracted by upcoming elections. Despite NATO’s overall military superiority, it has a weak position in the Balkans, and Russia continues to defeat the Alliance there. The time has come for NATO to strengthen its presence in the region and put Russia on the defensive, writes the author of the publication.
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2023-10-02 04:03:00
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