The Russia-Ukraine conflict that has lasted for more than 70 days has a tendency to expand, because the recent actions of three European countries are more eye-catching than the United States, two of which are NATO countries.
Polish: Dancing on the edge of a knife.
Poland not only fully supports Ukraine diplomatically, the president, prime minister and other senior officials have gone to Kiev, accepted a large number of Ukrainian refugees, served as the only stop for Western military aid to Ukraine, and was the first batch to provide heavy weapons to Ukraine. Poland, a NATO country, also provoked Belarus and opened fire at border crossings. Germany and Poland were also exposed as participating in military biological projects in Ukraine.
On April 8, the Polish army and the US military held joint military training in Poland.
If you want to fight, you must do everything. Poland banned the import of Russian coal, strongly supported the EU plan to embargo Russian oil, and single-handedly fought against the law. Uncooperative countries such as Germany, Hungary, and others also stated that they would ban the import of Russian natural gas as soon as possible. However, before Poland’s “spare tire” Baltic Sea pipeline was fully put into operation and sufficient gas supply was available, Russia had taken the lead in suspending gas supply and oil exports to Poland.
Poland’s military actions are particularly bold. When US House of Representatives Speaker Pelosi appeared on the streets of Kiev, NATO held two military exercises, in which Poland participated, and it was very likely to simulate real military operations. In addition, Poland is also strengthening its war preparations. In early April, it finalized the largest arms purchase in history with the United States, purchasing 250 "Abrams" main battle tanks, which will be deployed in the tank brigade in eastern Poland near Ukraine.
Poland has also set off a raging "anti-Russian wave." Russian Ambassador to Poland Andreev was splashed with red liquid on the streets of Warsaw on Victory Day. Subsequently, Russian protesters "retaliated with tooth" and poured red paint on the Polish Embassy in Russia. In fact, the bank account of the Russian Embassy in Poland has long been frozen, and Poland has also seized a building related to the Russian Embassy. And Andreev said that communication through diplomatic channels has also been blocked, and insurance companies have refused Insuring the embassy car, his barber even refused to cut his hair.
Poland’s actions gained Ukraine’s trust. A former Ukrainian lawmaker revealed that Zelenskiy urgently summoned relevant departments and security forces to immediately begin transporting national grain reserves to Poland. As an important member of the Warsaw Pact, it has become Poland's nature to be willing to fight back in repeated conflicts and "get tougher when it encounters force." McGregor, a retired U.S. colonel and former adviser to the Secretary of Defense, emphasized that Poland's invasion cannot be ruled out. The possibility of war between Russia and NATO in western Ukraine.
Andreev was splashed with red liquid on the streets of Warsaw on the 9th
Czech : Three "big things".
The Czech Republic has always been at odds with Russia, and was one of the first countries to be included in the list of unfriendly countries. As the struggle between the United States and the West against Russia becomes clearer, the Czech Republic's provocations against Russia are increasingly escalating. When Russia was excluded from the United Nations Human Rights Council, the Czech Republic supported it with both hands and feet. Later, it filled Russia's vacancy and replaced Russia in the United Nations Human Rights Council. Its international status was slightly raised by one level, and it took advantage of it.
Subsequently, the Czech Senate passed a resolution confirming that the Russian army was committing the crime of "genocide" and would continue to provide weapons to Ukraine in order to show support for Ukraine.
The most important thing is that Czech President Zeman approved a request to allow hundreds of Czech citizens to fight in Ukraine. You should know that the Czech Republic previously had a clear ban on citizens participating in wars or serving overseas, and violators would be sentenced. Now that the door has been opened, Czech citizens fighting alongside the Ukrainian army will be exempted from any punishment.
The Czech Republic also changed the name of the street where the Russian Embassy in the capital Prague is located to "Ukrainian Heroes Street". The vacant residence after the Czech expulsion of dozens of Russian diplomats has been asked to house Ukrainian child refugees.
In Prague, Czech Republic, a street near the Russian Embassy was renamed "Ukrainian Heroes Street"
Against the backdrop of Russia being increasingly "isolated" by the West, the Czech Republic has made its struggle against Russia public.
Finland: Breaking tradition.
Of course, in addition to the two countries mentioned above, there is another country that is about to become a NATO country.
On May 15, local time, Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson announced that her party supports the country’s application to join NATO. Finland has long pursued a policy of military non-alignment. Since the end of the Cold War, NATO, led by the United States, has repeatedly tried to recruit it to join the alliance. At the beginning of this year, the Prime Minister of Finland also vowed that it would be impossible to join NATO.
Finland said it was “not afraid” of Russia and decided to purchase 60 F-35 fighter jets. He also called on neighboring countries: he hopes Sweden will also decide to join NATO in the next few days, because the decisions made by the two countries "will affect the entire Nordic region." It is reported that Sweden’s ruling party, the Social Democratic Party, has announced its support for Sweden’s membership of NATO and will submit it to parliament on the 16th. This step is regarded as a "historic decision" by Finland and NATO. However, breaking the decades-old non-alignment policy and joining NATO is a very dangerous move, whether it is due to pressure from the United States and the West or Finnish public opinion.
Finland's joining NATO means that the length of the land border between NATO and Russia has doubled. NATO will be able to deploy troops on another flank next to the Russian border, opening up a new outpost for confrontation with Russia. Moreover, the Kola Peninsula on the border between Russia and Finland is the location of the Russian Northern Fleet and is a "strategic fortress" that Russia values very much. This will inevitably touch upon the core interests that Russia attaches great importance to.
Moreover, Finland is based on the concept of national defense. Its law can ensure that all resources of society are used in the armed forces to protect national security. Finland has a "citizen army". Finland, with a population of 5.5 million, has 900,000 reservists who can be used in short periods of time. Tens of thousands of soldiers were thrown into the war within a short period of time, and one of the largest armies in Europe was assembled relative to the size of the country. In other words, it is not just the Finnish defense system that participates in NATO defense planning, but all sectors of society.
This is equivalent to a new sword hanging over Russia's head. Finnish President Niinisto had a phone call with Putin on the 14th, informing Finland of its decision to join NATO. What Niinisto didn't expect was that the call was very calm. Putin's calmness surprised him. Putin did not repeat the threats he had made before.
However, under the calm, the storm is about to come. Starting from 1:00 on May 14th, Finland time, Russia has "cut off power" to Finland. Although Finland is not unusually dependent on Russia for its electricity, and the power outage has little impact on Finland, Finland believes that this is only the first step in Russia's "retaliation".
This is obviously an unfavorable situation for Russia. Some Russian experts believe that Finland and Sweden are both first-class military powers with their own military industries. They have both joined NATO and the Russian Baltic Fleet will actually be trapped in the Baltic Sea. Kaliningrad will be cut off and surrounded. In this case, Russia will be forced to change its military deployment. Tactical nuclear warheads can be transferred to the Western Military District and the Baltic Fleet to deter NATO.
