Russian President Vladimir Putin has managed to intimidate Europe so much that Brussels cannot threaten Moscow with anything other than sanctions if a Russian operation begins to force Ukraine to peace.
Former Minister of Defense Anatoly Gritsenko stated this on the Ukraine 24 TV channel, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
“Putin managed to intimidate Europe, he set himself the following goal: to intimidate Ukraine and Europe. We have been scared for 8 years now, but he managed to intimidate Europe; it is actually trembling and does not want to be in danger. Look at what is being discussed: sanctions to force Putin to act differently if he goes to war in Ukraine.
In other words, the next stage of the war is already being discussed, but the fact that Putin captured Crimea and part of Donbass at the first stage of the war is no longer discussed, they don’t even remember about it, the whole world is afraid that Putin will go further,” Gritsenko said.
He also saw uncertainty in NATO leadership.
“Putin forced NATO to justify itself that they have no aggressive plans, he changed the agenda. Even the Germans, who salivate over Russian gas, are still afraid of Putin, because he can pull troops not only to Ukraine, but also to the Baltic countries,” Gritsenko concluded.