How NATO Should Deter Vladimir Putin's Russia
The 31 allies need to fortify their eastern periphery, possibly even with nukes. The harder question is Ukrainian membership.
Ever vigilant.
Photographer: Omar Marques/Getty Images
Come July, NATO allies will gather in Vilnius for their second summit since Russian President Vladimir Putin launched his genocidal war of aggression against Ukraine. There’ll be 31 of them this time, after Finland joined the club in direct response to Putin’s bellicosity. What should they decide?
One way or another, every discussion will touch on Putin. The neo-Tsarist, imperialist, irredentist and atavistic threat he represents menaces not only non-NATO countries such as Ukraine or Moldova but also NATO allies including Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. And while some items on the Vilnius agenda may seem uncontroversial, others pose dilemmas that could prove fiendish — depending on the success or failure of Ukraine’s expected “spring offensive.”