Russia's Vladimir Putin brandishes the nuclear option

The Kremlin has hardly been secretive about its overall strategy. Two years ago it unveiled a new military doctrine of what it called asymmetrical warfare, in effect high-tech guerrilla fighting alongside unrelenting technological and propaganda offensives against smaller, less militarily able neighbours.

According to the World Bank, it stood at over four per cent of Russia's gross domestic product in 2014 and was due to climb by almost 25 per cent in 2015.

When it comes to its military, Russia far outspends its European neighbours and now even spends more than the U.S., at least when measured as a percentage of its GDP.

After annexing Crimea in 2014, he delivered a triumphant speech saying the Kremlin reserved the right to intervene to protect and defend Russians wherever they lived.

The Putin doctrine simply thumbed its nose at two international agreements, the Helsinki accords of 1974 signed by Russia's predecessor state, the USSR, and the Budapest Memorandum of 1994, signed by Russia.

The first guaranteed the inviolability of all borders in Europe and the second specifically guaranteed Ukraine's borders and independence in return for handing over to Russia 1,900 Soviet-era nuclear weapons on Ukrainian soil.

Thanks in part to these Ukrainian weapons, Russia now has the largest nuclear stockpile in the world, 8,400 warheads to the 7,500 controlled by the U.S.

''During the era of political romanticism, the Soviet Union pledged never to use nuclear weapons first," Kiselyov said on state television. "But Russia's current military doctrine does not. No more illusions."

NATO Fighter Jets Intercept Russian Planes Over Baltic, Latvia Says
The Moscow Times
Mar. 18 2015 14:38
Last edited 14:38

NATO has been forced to scramble fighter jets to intercept half a dozen Russian planes flying over the Baltic Sea, the Latvian military said Wednesday.

NATO Typhoon fighter jets on Tuesday intercepted seven Russian aircraft, the Latvian military said on its Twitter page, including four Su-27, two An-26 jets and an An-12 jet.

Latvia said in a separate tweet that it had also spotted three Russian Kilo-class submarines, sub-support, and a hydrographic vessel just 30 nautical miles (55 kilometers) outside of Latvia’s territorial waters on Wednesday.

The report comes a day after the Latvian military identified a Russian naval ship just 28 nautical miles away from Latvia’s territorial waters, and two days after it reported two Russian Kilo-class submarines at least 27 nautical miles away from its naval coast, according to Twitter posts.

Russia has escalated its naval activity on its western frontier in recent months. Earlier this week, Russia’s Northern Fleet was put into full combat readiness for series of military drills, a move interpreted as a response to simultaneous military exercises held in Norway.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.