Europe on alert against Putin: Is a world war approaching?
Nearly five years into the war in Ukraine, the line between the conflict in Kyiv and tensions with NATO is blurring. Ram Feldscher, a researcher at the Begin-Sadat Center, estimates in an interview with Channel 14 that Russia is not seeking an all-out war with the West, but is exerting sophisticated pressure on NATO by exploiting weak points such as the Suwałki Gap and the city of Narva in Estonia. The current escalation may be a Russian attempt to improve its opening position ahead of the end of the war in Ukraine.
Nearly five years into the war in Ukraine, the line between the conflict in Kyiv and tensions with NATO is increasingly blurring. Acts of sabotage, cyberattacks, drone incursions, and open accusations by European countries toward Moscow raise the question of what will happen if the conflict spills from Ukrainian territory into NATO. Ram Feldscher, a doctoral student in the Department of Political Science at Bar-Ilan University and a researcher at the Begin-Sadat Center, estimates in an interview with Channel 14 that Russia is not necessarily seeking an all-out war with the West. Instead, it is exerting pressure on NATO and trying to test how far it can go, partly to make European countries think twice before continuing to transfer weapons and equipment to Ukraine. Feldscher points to key weak points: the Suwałki Gap, a narrow strip between Poland and Lithuania that separates Belarus from the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad, and the border city of Narva in Estonia, where a large majority of residents are Russian-speaking. In such a scenario, Moscow might try to create an ambiguous situation that would make it difficult for NATO countries to agree on a response. However, Feldscher does not currently see a world war as the most likely scenario. The current escalation may be an attempt by Moscow to improve the terms for ending the war in Ukraine, while presenting a narrative of victory to the Russian public.