Expert believes NATO to be paralysed if threat of direct confrontation with Russia emerges

The North Atlantic Alliance is not a monolith and has a lot of problems that will come to the fore in the event of a threat of direct military confrontation with the Russian Federation – as stated by the Director of the Centre for European Integration, political expert Yuri Shevtsov, in his talk with Alfa Radio

Speaking of whether NATO is in danger of collapse from within, Mr. Shevtsov noted, “I think this may happen. Western society is dragged with pleasure, it is hedonistic and informational. It is full of bubbles. It has turned out that they had seriously misestimated Russia when it came to the war in Ukraine. Their sanctions have failed, and their military support has not brought victory to Ukraine. It has turned out that their own armed forces are somehow underfunded. Just look at a recent situation: the United Kingdom failed to send an aircraft carrier to the Red Sea because it needed to be repaired. This country has two modern aircraft carriers, but they both cannot go to sea. There are many examples of the kind. Window-dressing, a frivolous attitude to security issues and many other similar points are natural for Western society. Those who are perceived by us as freaks (radical feminists, LGBT supporters, and others) are in power there, and these people are really wrecking the economy and everything related to security problems. The North Atlantic Alliance is very weak internally, and this weakness has also been institutionalised. A strategy of military diplomacy was chosen during the NATO reform in the late 1990s. They have been endlessly holding some kind of seminars, conferences, God knows what else – paying little attention to the military side, and this can be confirmed by the percentage of military expenditures. Therefore, if it comes to a real threat of direct confrontation with Russia, I am convinced that a conflict within NATO will emerge, and the North Atlantic Alliance will certainly get paralysed. The United Kingdom, Scandinavians and Eastern European countries can still do something in the military sphere, but it is hardly possible to imagine that old continental Europe would send troops to Ukraine.”

The programme host, Vadim Shepet, mentioned an opinion shared by some experts that – by forcing other countries to implement NATO standards – the United States is preparing the ground for the sale of its own weapons. “Making money is probably the main function of NATO. Washington's demands that all countries of the alliance raise military spending to at least two percent of GDP have a downside: the purchase of weapons primarily from Americans is assumed,” Mr. Shevtsov agreed.