NATO asks Putin not to make “miscalculations” with his bombings that would force the Alliance to intervene

The Russian bombardment of a NATO base located a few kilometers from the border with Poland has marked a before and after in the war in Ukraine. The EU’s response was diplomatic and happened yesterday with the trip to Kiev of the Polish, Slovenian and Czech prime ministers to meet with the Ukrainian president, Volodymir Zelensky.

The psychological game that Vladimir Putin plays with these actions (since they understand from the West that this bombing in particular was premeditated with the sole objective of increasing tension) worries NATO. A miscalculation, they argue, can cause a missile to fall into allied territory and that would leave the Alliance facing the dilemma of intervening, a scenario that the West wants to avoid at all costs because it would raise the conflict to a world war.

Therefore, this Wednesday morning NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg acknowledged that the Alliance has a “responsibility” to ensure that the war does not extend beyond Ukraine, while admitting that the conflict will have “lasting” consequences for the safety of the allies.

“NATO has a responsibility to ensure that this crisis does not escalate beyond Ukraine and that is also why we have increased the (military) presence in the eastern part of the Alliance”said Stoltenberg with US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ahead of the NATO Defense Ministers’ meeting in Brussels today.

The Norwegian politician has also pointed out that the war is “devastating for the Ukrainian population and will also change our security environment”. ” It will have lasting consequences for our security for all NATO allies,” he said.

However, he also stressed that the Alliance has responded “in a united and rapid manner” and noted that members of the transatlantic organization have imposed “severe sanctions” on Russia, providing “significant support to Ukraine, military, financial and humanitarian” and reinforce their collective defense.