Europe flirts with a continent-wide war

Should a high-performance Russian missile land in a Baltic country, it would be the moment of truth for the pro-war group within NATO.

- M.D. NALAPAT

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy may believe he has reason for satisfaction at the drone attack he carried out deep inside on airfields in the Russian Federation's European part. The sophistication of the attack betrays the involvement of another country in its planning, and the information is that it is Britain. Tactically, the attack was brilliant and flawless. The Russians were caught by surprise, even as they made the inexcusable error of exposing long-distance strategic bombers in the open rather than in well-covered and protected locations. The Russian aircraft were in the open possibly because of the New START Treaty of 2010 between Russia and the US, according to which such bombers have to be in the open for verification purposes.

Zelenskyy may have torn up the New START Treaty by such a breach of faith. Such bombers were not needed for an attack on Ukraine, a country which borders the Russian Federation. They were meant for targets much farther away, including Britain and France. Once again, Ukraine has been used as a sacrificial pawn to serve the military interests of the major European powers in NATO. As for the country that Zelenskyy rules much after his legal term in office is over, it has provided ample justification for a substantial Russian riposte. Vladimir Putin has been caught flat-footed, and in the labyrinthine, ruthless world of Russian power politics, any impression of weakness may turn out to be terminal.