Russia is developing a key way to undermine NATO and attack Europe, an expert has warned.
From Kremlin-affiliated motorcycle gangs to GPS jamming, for years Putin has been developing ways to strike the West. And with the Ukraine War bringing open warfare back to Europe like the continent hasn't witnessed since World War II, many are left wondering where NATO's vulnerabilities lie.
Speaking to the Mirror, author and researcher studying Russia Keir Giles explained the ways Russia could undermine its key opponent in Europe - NATO. He said: "It's still true that Russia will want to avoid any open conflict with NATO as a whole but that still leaves open a range of different options for Russia attacking, when they're confident they're not going to get a unified response from the alliance as a whole. So that's what analysts are looking at - what is it that Russia could do to either make some kind of incremental gain at the expense of a NATO nation without getting the rest of the alliance responding."
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NATO, or the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, is an intergovernmental military alliance of 32 member states — 30 European and two North American. It is a collective security system so its independent member states agree to defend each other against attacks by third parties.
Mr Giles is highly critical of Trump and his ongoing apparent support of Russia. European leaders have also called out Trump for his "anti-Ukrainian sentiment" and "pro-Russian attitude," including slowing the bill providing military aid to Ukraine as it passed through Congress. Some have even suggested Trump has worked on behalf of the Russians, something the former president has denied.
The expert said: "Russia doesn't have to strike the US. They already have. If they get their man reelected in November they don't need to strike the US because he'll be working very hard on their behalf from inside the White House. And the very last thing Russia wants is an open confrontation with a much more powerful adversary. Which is what you'd get if there was a direct and overt strike on the US. As opposed to deniable political warfare which is what we have seen until now. "
Mr Giles continued: "The key strength of NATO as it always has been, is its key weakness as well. That is the requirement for unity and the ease with which an individual ally could torpedo a collective response. What people are worried about is that could be the US, the lynchpin of NATO and the military capability that underpins everything. If Russia wins the US presidential election, then Russia wins the war in Ukraine and all kind of options are open."
He warned that if Trump is re-elected, NATO would become "pointless". Mr Giles explained: "The US doesn't need to pull out of NATO for Trump to neutralise the whole point of the alliance. Because all that a national leader has to do is tell his troops not to show up and that's it. NATO becomes pointless. It doesn't require a formal withdrawal from NATO just a failure to cooperate is sufficient to hand Russia a win. It could be the US or any other country in a similar position."