Stoicescu rejects WSJ speculation about possible Russian NATO attack

Kalev Stoicescu, chairman of the Riigikogu National Defence Committee, has dismissed as speculative claims published by The Wall Street Journal that Russia could launch a limited attack against NATO, ERR reported.

“We have heard these warnings enough before. It has long been clear that Russia is hostile, especially towards countries that support Ukraine, and that it is trying to make them pay as cheaply as possible for supporting Ukraine and opposing its aggression. In that sense, there is nothing new,” Stoicescu told ERR’s Aktuaalne kaamera news programme.

“I do not believe Russia has the capability or the will to attack NATO militarily in the near future when it cannot even defeat Ukraine. It is very difficult to imagine how it could fight militarily on two fronts,” he said.

Stoicescu said the US intelligence assessment discussed by The Wall Street Journal was not based on intelligence indicating specific Russian plans or preparations.

“It is speculative in that sense. Everyone knows that Russia can harm its neighbours and is prepared to do so. This should not be repeated and amplified every day, because in the worst case it could become a self-fulfilling prophecy,” Stoicescu said.

As an example of Russian aggression, Stoicescu cited the recent discovery of a drone carrying explosives at Leipzig Airport in Germany.

“Germany would not have convened security consultations with the Baltic states, the Nordic countries and Poland without reason. There is only one conclusion: we must remain increasingly vigilant, strengthen our internal security, and our security begins at the eastern border, which must be strengthened further and, in my view, also closed,” he said.

Stoicescu said every country needed to fulfil its role and contribute, while also cooperating with others.

“I think a format involving the Baltic and Nordic countries, Poland and Germany is very good in this context. These are precisely the countries Russia has targeted,” he said.

The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday that, according to the latest US intelligence assessments, Russian President Vladimir Putin could test NATO’s resolve in the coming years with a limited attack on one of the alliance’s member states if Russia becomes bogged down in its attempt to conquer Ukraine.

Possible scenarios include cyberattacks and a small-scale ground incursion.