Will Russia Soon Attack NATO?

Russia could attack a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization as early as this fall, the Wall Street Journal reported on August 6, referencing a United States intelligence agency report from earlier this year.

While the alliance’s leaders claim to be prepared for such an attack, there are growing indications that Russia could get away with it without facing consequences.

Former German Defense Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg warned in May that Russia might attack a European nato member for two reasons:

1. “If the signs multiply that the U.S., due to Trump’s personality and nato’s current instability, would not come to the aid of an attacked European nation, even though the nato collective defense clause, Article 5, would be triggered.
2. “The Europeans are not yet capable of effectively defending themselves against a Russian attack—which, according to all truly leading military figures, they currently are not.”

This gives Russian President Vladimir Putin a clear window of opportunity to act.

NATO’s Weakness

There are legitimate concerns that the U.S. lacks the will to fight for its European partners.

• The Trump administration has repeatedly criticized European countries for not spending enough on defense and is preparing to reduce U.S. troops in Europe.
• The U.S. war on Iran has been costly, reducing its ammunition stockpile and driving up energy costs.

The Trump administration may reason that pushing Russia out of a nato country could prove too costly and leave it unable to defend its own territory in a potential attack from China.

As Guttenberg mentioned, European leaders have repeatedly said that they are not prepared for a confrontation with Russia. German leaders have said they need until 2029 to be prepared for a Russian attack on nato.

Logically, this signals to Russia that it can attack certain territories without needing to fear a major respose from Germany.

There are a few reasons why Russia would choose to attack a nato country. A primary reason is that Russian forces have been stuck in Ukraine for over four years. Opening another front could provide Russia with a propaganda success if nato failed to respond.

Russia may not need to send troops and could instead conduct major cyberattacks or a few drone or missile attacks. This would make it more difficult for nato to make a unified response.

If the situation threatens to escalate, Putin could choose to drop a small tactical nuclear weapon on Ukraine to send a message. According to reports, Putin has been considering this possibility, but China’s Xi Jinping reportedly warned him against it. Putin, however, may be looking for an opportunity to escalate the war.

The absolute nightmare for nato that few talk about but is becoming increasingly probable would be if “Russia targets a nato member in Eastern Europe while China makes its move against Taiwan,” the Atlantic wrote on August 17. “The U.S. military would need to react on two fronts at once—three if it remains at war in the Middle East.”

Who Would Be the Victim?

Guttenberg pointed to Estonia as a possible victim, since it was once part of the Soviet Union.

In recent months, the three Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania have been increasingly targeted by Russian hybrid attacks.

In May, a spokesperson for Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry claimed that Russia had deliberately redirected Ukrainian drones into Estonia and Latvia using electronic warfare techniques.

Russia accused Latvia of allowing Ukrainian drone units to be deployed from its military bases. On May 19, Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service said that Latvia’s nato membership “will not protect the accomplices of terrorists from just retribution.”

Russia could be looking for an excuse to attack one of these countries.

A false flag operation, where Russia accuses a Baltic state of being an active player in the Ukraine war, would make a united nato response even less likely. President Trump could call Putin to get his side of the story and then decide not to intervene.

With all these factors considered, Putin could stage an attack on a European nato member in the coming months.

Bible Prophecy Warns

In his booklet The Prophesied ‘Prince of Russia,’ Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry points to a passage in Ezekiel 38 that indicates Putin “will probably conquer more nations of the former Soviet Union.”

Verse 2 reads: “Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him.” Mr. Flurry writes:

The King James Version uses the adjective “chief.” But the correct rendering (used by the Moffatt, New King James Version and others) uses the word not as an adjective, but as a proper noun: Rosh. Thus, that verse should read, “the prince of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal.”

Rosh was the ancient name of Russia, once called Rus. Many encyclopedias and commentaries (such as the Jamieson, Fausset and Brown Commentary) recognize this. So who is this “prince” of Russia, Moscow and Tobolsk? The use of all three names shows that this is an individual ruler of all the peoples of Russia, from the west to the east. The reference to the cities of Moscow and Tobolsk helps us see how vast Russian territory is in these latter days.

This giant swath of land indicates the prince will probably conquer more nations of the former Soviet Union.

With all the firepower Europe and the U.S. have, one would think they could easily prevent this from happening. But as Mr. Flurry explained in “Germany’s Secret Deal With Russia—Exposed,” Russia’s current military conquests have Germany’s approval. Why?

In 2008, he wrote: “I believe that Germany’s leaders may have already agreed to a deal with Russia, a modern Hitler-Stalin pact where Germany and Russia divide countries and assets between themselves. This agreement would allow each to turn its sights on other targets.”

As Mr. Flurry explained in that article, both nations have an interest in undermining nato. Both want to extend their influence over other European nations. Germany knows that if Russia invades Estonia or another European country and the U.S. fails to come to their aid, other European nations will be more willing to form a new military security structure with Germany at its helm.

Are we about to see Germany and Russia divide Europe as they did in the early stages of World War ii?