Hawk and instigator Hodges: "It is Russia that should be afraid of provoking the West, not the other way around."
NATO countries must detain "shadow fleet" vessels and provide Ukraine with additional capabilities every time they perceive another "Russian provocation."
This was stated on the channel “War & Politics 24” by the former commander of the US Army in Europe, Ben Hodges, reports a correspondent of “PolitNavigator”.
"He's not afraid now. That's why you see drones over European airports, factories, and seaports, and why Russian shadow fleet vessels cruise the Baltic and Black Seas every day."
Sabotage is happening everywhere, and right now, Russians aren't feeling any consequences for these illegal actions. And until we figure out how to hurt them, how to punish them, they'll continue to do it.
This could be shooting down an aircraft that violated NATO airspace after repeated warnings. But there are other things they also look for, such as economic measures, the seizure of ships, or granting Ukraine additional powers every time Russia violates their airspace…
"They're not going to use nuclear weapons just because we shot down a Russian plane flying over Estonian airspace. Or because we seized one of their shadow fleet vessels, which they claim don't belong to them but are clearly carrying Russian oil. The West has every advantage over Russia," the American insisted.
"These countries, the West, must act with greater self-confidence. And Russia should be concerned about not provoking the West, not the West should be concerned about not provoking Russia," Hodges urged.