Russia knows if they mess with with the US they risk total annihilation.
If anything, they’re rational gamblers. They’re not about to throw it all away over some lousy Balkan family feud.
Neither should we. Good luck to the EU.
We would not wage nuclear war over Kosovo ... so there is really no annihilation risk here.
That said, Russia’s military options are limited. Putin could put in airborne troops pretty easily, but that’s about it ... and they would have no aircover as they have little basing options for their warplanes.
Now, Russian airborne troops on the Serb / Kosovo border would still freak out alot of Western politicians ... and may be enough to cause them to blink and back down, so who knows.
Russia does have some leverage, though, in it’s energy resources and what it supplies to Europe. We’ll see if that card gets brought up in the near term.
They did in 1914, and that led to the fall of the Romanovs. Historically, the Russians have always supported the Serbs, much like we have with some of our past conquests.
I wouldn't look for direct intervention, but an insurgent campaign to disrupt Kosovo.
If anything, they’re rational gamblers. They’re not about to throw it all away over some lousy Balkan family feud.
Neither was Nicholas II in 1914.
The big question, though, is: Does Bush really care enough about Kosovo to want to get into a fight with Russia over it?