...It might also motivate the EU to take a second look at their own defense budgets. The EU’s 2% on defense equates to $312 billion...
Misleading, as the EU doesn’t set the defence expenditure for the nations in the bloc. That is the EU average. There are nations who far exceed that figure, and other nations that fall below it too.
So if we are talking about the British, French and Germans we have more than enough to deter a Russians attack. Two nuclear states in the big three if you forgot.
True. If we look at military spending % of GDP, of the top five European countries, including NATO member Turkey:
The total of these five comes to $256 billion, compared to Russia's $43 billion.
Of course, we can't say what those countries are actually getting for all that money, (might be nothing more than social welfare dressed up in uniforms!). But it looks serious enough to give Russia pause.
Finally, for perspective, US military spending pre-War On Terror was about the same % as France & UK now, but these days up to 4.3%.