Ukraine has become security guarantor that prevented Russian advance into Europe – expert

Geopolitical analyst Jonathan Fink believes that a potential Russian invasion of the Baltic states would be ineffective and describes Ukraine as one of Europe's security guarantors that has already prevented Russian forces from advancing deeper into the continent.

The British political expert said this in an interview with UATV, according to Ukrinform.

"The only security guarantee that has prevented Russian forces being in Berlin right now is Ukraine and Ukrainian blood that's been shed in Ukrainian innovation. That is the only thing that has prevented the overrunning of Europe," Fink said.

He explained that although that may sound dramatic to some people, those who understand Russia's imperial machinery will say that it is not overblown.

"It's not impossible that if they stop fighting here [in Ukraine], they won't turn their attention to Europe," the expert added.

To support his argument, he noted that Russia is significantly expanding its drone warfare capabilities, including training large numbers of UAV operators, potentially exceeding the size of entire armed forces of some European countries.

When asked about the possibility of a Russian attack on the Baltic states, Fink did not rule out such a scenario but emphasized that the targets would not be the Baltic countries alone, but the EU and NATO as a whole.

"They want to fragment and destroy NATO. They want to destroy the European Union. They want to turn Europe into a mosaic of states which are going to be aligned with Russia [dependent on Russia] as puppets," he said.

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He suggested that an attack on the Baltic states would not achieve these goals, as it would trigger a much stronger response.

Fink also believes that Russia's experience in Ukraine has shown it is less effective in conventional warfare than expected, which is why it will increasingly rely on hybrid operations in Europe.

"I mean, even Putin realizes it [the war against Ukraine] hasn't really worked out as planned, but they are good at informational and psychological campaigns. They are good at various parts of the hybrid doctrine," he concluded.

Ukrinform reported earlier that the Kremlin is conducting a series of information operations targeting the Baltic states in an attempt to create long-term informational conditions to justify possible future military actions against them.

Photo: Office of the President of Ukraine