Russia does want to attack NATO, “it just can't now” - expert

This opinion was expressed by the expert with the National Institute for Strategic Studies, Oleksiy Yizhak, who spoke on the air of the national telethon, reports Ukrinform.

"The threat tp NATO countries (from Russia) is always out there. As soon as the Russians see that it is safe to attack someone, they will attack because the mode of their power is arranged in such a way that they cannot help but go to war to preserve it," Yizhak said.

He noted that, in his opinion, right now the risk of a full-scale war against NATO Allies is low, but there are always hybrid risks in place.

"Certain provocations, sowing chaos – this is what Russia will do whenever and wherever they can, including with the help of waves of refugees that it sends from other countries. That is, Russia will use all tools for chaos now, at any opportunity," the expert predicted.

Commenting on the possibility of Russia launching a major war against NATO, he noted that to do so, Moscow first needs to at least seal an armistice and freeze the war with Ukraine, otherwise Russia will simply have no sufficient resources for another invasion.

"Now, I’d say they want to go for it but they can’t now... But as soon as it becomes possible, they will unleash (a war against NATO Allies. - dd.)," Yizhak believes.

According to the expert, in order to survive, the Russian regime needs to "export chaos", and to this end, the Russians choose the most convenient targets.

"Now it seems convenient for them to threaten NATO, at another moment it seems convenient for them to threaten Moldova, then someone else... Threatening NATO is beneficial to them because it explains why the gains in the war against Ukraine are very limited for them. They claim they are fighting with NATO," the expert noted.

In this context, he recalled that when Russian Defense Minister Shoigu reported to Putin about the capture of Avdiivka, he said that the Russians had defeated "a NATO-led coalition of 67 countries" there and now they are "so powerful that they can defeat NATO."

"I think the idea is the same here – to say they will attack NATO. They really want to do it, they just can't now," Yizhak stated.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, French President Emmanuel Macron believes that the fact that Russian officials have finally called the war against Ukraine a war and not a special operation should bring Europeans closer to realizing the reality.