Why are Nato leaders so afraid of Russia?

[ExciteBike66]

Nato guy today talking about how Europe will have to learn Russian if they don't up spending on defense? After the Russian army's performance in ukraine it seems doubtful they would attack the alliance...

[SheltieLover]

1. Because ruskie govt has never been anything but a pariah state. This is why we ended up with NATO.

[magicarpet]

2. Nukes in the hands of ruthless Putin.

Who is on a land grab fest looking to become the resource extraction King Oligarch of planet earth.

He wants to be the world's most successful Capitalist pig so he can beat the Western Democracies at their own game in spades.

Putie is just slightly more ruthless and cruel than that the United Healthcare executive who went bye bye in New York, but way more richer.
Elon Musk is envious of Putin's financial stature.

[Johonny]

3. NATO is moving from a US based organization

To an European based. I.E. they plan to be able to handle Russian without the US. To do that they have to increase spending. But the loser in this is the US economy thar supplies Europe with weapon systems. But when you twice elect an anti-NATO president, expect countries to change strategies.

[FSogol]

4. Afraid or trying to avoid complacency since they know there is a chance the Trump admin sides with Russia when possible?

[Crunchy Frog]

5. They're unpredictable, reckless, and make a lot of threats.

If they managed to conquer Ukraine they could be really formidable, as they would be forcibly conscripting Ukrainian men. And Europe can obviously no longer count on the US.

I'm also not sure that most of Europe has the kind of fight in it that the Ukrainians do.

[William769]

6. Many remember WWII & the aftermath the Cold War.

[0rganism]

7. Maybe because a Russian agent is about to be inaugurated as POTUS?

NATO has to switch over to being a lot less reliant on constructive US involvement over the next decade, and it's likely intelligence sharing protocols need to be re-visited. Meanwhile both Russia and the USA have expressed interest in territorial expansion.

Frankly, I'm not surprised if they're freaking out. Saddened, but not surprised.

[comradebillyboy]

8. Because Europe states have outsourced their

national defense to the US after the cold war ended. The Russian invasion of Ukraine was a reminder that they need to assist in their own defense.

[Blue_Tires]

9. Because Moscow knows how to divide and conquer

Just look at what they've done with America