From " wagging your tail and begging for mercy on " to "showing off everything", Russia has been full of highlights for the United States over the past 20 years.
21 years ago, on March 24, 1999, NATO bypassed United Nations and launched the Kosovo War , launching 78 days of bombing Serbian . As a result, NATO used its powerful military strike capabilities to force Yugoslav Alliance troops to withdraw from Kosovo .
The Kosovo War is most concerned not only with the process and results of this war, but also with Russia at that time. After all, Russia and Yugoslavia have always had a good relationship, especially with Serbia, but in times of crisis, Russia did not lend a helping hand.
It is undeniable that although Yeltsin was fully pro-Western, it was still on the side of Yugoslavia in the diplomatic field. However, except for supporting Yugoslavia in diplomatic rhetoric, Russia did not use force to prevent NATO's military operations led by the United States. NATO defeated Serbia and ignored Russia's historical interests in the region fueled Russian nationalism and anti-Western sentiment.
000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 This has led to a state of full confrontation between Russia and the United States in recent years.
Whether in the military, geopolitical interests, financial, economic and even energy fields, the contradictions between Moscow and Washington are everywhere. While occasionally playing the "humanitarian" card, Washington abandoned the "war on terrorism" as the core theory of the United States' global military deployment, and instead adopted a "big power" conflict strategy, openly provoking Russia in order to gain alliance cohesion and consolidate its hegemony.
1 years ago why Russia was so cowardly?
①. Before the outbreak of the Kosovo War, Yeltsin was full of expectations for the United States and the West. Due to the lack of economic reform measures, Russia's domestic economy was struggling for a while. Yeltsin tried to rely on Western aid to get rid of the dilemma, and also had a good personal relationship with US President Clinton .
In order to obtain economic assistance from the United States, Yeltsin made concessions to the United States in the field of nuclear weapons and destroyed some strategic weapons and equipment, such as demolishing missile train . The " second phase of strategic weapons reduction treaty" signed by in the United States and Russia was requested by the United States.
②. At that time, Russia's economy was weak and it was impossible to confront NATO at all. Moreover, although NATO focused on attacking Serbian military bases, NATO did not launch a large-scale ground war, nor did it attempt to form a long-term military occupation. The conditions for Russia to send troops to confront NATO head-on are not that sufficient.
③. The Russian leaders at that time lacked the courage of Putin , and had fantasies about the West. NATO attacked Serbia and then expanded eastward step by step, which has proved a truth that the West does not want to see Serbia affecting Balkans , and wants to incorporate the Balkans into the Western power map.
The consequence of this is that in Europe, Russia will lose a huge force with good relations with itself and anti-US stance. As it turns out, after the Kosovo War, the relationship between Russia and the United States fell sharply because Yeltsin also saw the true face of the West. After Putin came to power, he launched strategic stop loss, especially for strategic buffer zones.
21 Today, the confrontation between Russia and the United States is comprehensive, but this time, Putin is obviously much tougher than Yeltsin.
The United States is currently adopting a strategy of conquering Russia from a geographical perspective. On the west side, NATO is trying to win over Ukraine , near Black Sea , win over Georgia , and on the east side, provoking Japan to put pressure on Russia, etc.
In the diplomatic field, there have been many expulsions of diplomats, spreading from the United States to NATO, and even EU . The anxiety about Russia in the Western world always exists. A huge Russia is not in the interests of the West, and dismembering it has always been the goal of the United States.
In the military field, the United States' strategic bomber often shows off its power at the doorstep of Russia, such as flying to the Black Sea, or putting pressure on Belarus near Polish , and the target is still Russia.
In the economic field, the United States has initiated many sanctions on Russian entities or individuals. Russia is strongly dissatisfied with this, but the United States does not seem to take Russia's demands seriously.
In the energy field, the United States interfered with the opening of Nord Stream-2 natural gas, which made Russia very dissatisfied, causing Europe's energy prices to rise all the way. This includes economic and social factors, but also factors of geopolitical struggle.
Faced with various encirclements from the United States, Putin has given a strong counterattack in the fields of geopolitical, diplomatic, economic, energy and military. At the geopolitical level, Russia successfully intervened in the Nagorno-Karabakh War of South Caucasus , and currently dominates the dispute between Armenian and Azerbaijan . The United States' influence in this region is obviously not as good as Russia.
In the diplomatic field, NATO expelled Russia's delegation, while Russia directly closed the NATO delegation, and the gunpowder smell was very strong between the two sides.
In the energy field, the United States' sanctions on Russia's Nord Stream-2 does give Russia a headache, but it's still good-looking. After the demand for natural gas rises in winter, it is unlikely that Europe will suffer to take care of the United States' feelings. The EU and Germany have different positions in opening Nord Stream-2 from the United States, especially Germany itself.
In the military field, not to mention that Russia's Syria and the US's fighter face-to-face tit-for-tat, and the US has not affected Russia's interests in Syria. In the Black Sea, NATO member states' destroyer harassed Russian territorial waters, and Russia directly sent fighter bomber to throw real-bucket to drive out real-guns, which shows its tough attitude.
In addition, Russia has not only preserved its strategic space in recent years, but also expanded its geopolitical influence. In Middle East , Russia's voice is not only reflected in Syria situation , but has a certain influence on Turkey , Iran and even Persian Gulf surrounding countries. This is obviously not what the United States wants to see, so the United States is now strengthening pressure on Russia's western border to fight back Russia's rising influence in the Middle East.
Russia has repeatedly warned Ukraine and NATO countries not to escalate the situation in Donbass, especially Ukraine. Russia's concerns are very realistic, and what NATO countries, especially the United States, want is also very clear, which is to block Russian influence from moving south. If Ukraine is really encouraged to fight with Russia in Donbas, it will inevitably drag Russia into a quagmire of war. If NATO really transfusions blood to Ukraine, then there is still the ability to hold Russia back. As for wanting to drag down Russia, NATO may have thought too much.
After years of Russia's performance, once a conflict breaks out in Donbas, the possibility that NATO can hold Russia back may be just a theoretical possibility. Russia's direct move may end in a few weeks. Thinking about the Georgian War that year, it has not been fought for a few days.
