After Ukraine, this European country is at risk of facing Putin's wrath, ex-CIA chief reveals
If Russia wins in Ukraine, Putin could target another country in NATO. Experts believe Lithuania, a small Baltic nation, is most at risk. Petraeus thinks Russia could invade Lithuania either to test how NATO reacts or as a step before a bigger war, as per reports.
He believes Russia wants to remove Ukraine's President Zelensky and put a puppet leader who listens to Moscow. Once Ukraine is controlled, Russia will look at other countries next, especially the Baltic states like Lithuania. Lithuania has been mentioned a lot in Putin's speeches, which should have been taken more seriously, according to the Mail Online report.
Petraeus criticized the US for being too slow in sending weapons to Ukraine. He gave examples like delays in sending M1 Abrams tanks, F-16 jets, and rocket systems. He said these slow decisions hurt Ukraine's chances to stop Russia early. Petraeus said the US should have helped Ukraine more and faster so Russia would understand it can't win at an 'acceptable cost', as per reports.
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He also said the UK should allow the use of cluster bombs, which are banned in many places, because they can help defend better. Petraeus led US, UK, and other soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan, and later became the CIA chief, as stated in the reports.
Petraeus also blamed Trump for being too soft on Putin many times. He also criticized Biden for not sending enough weapons to Ukraine in time. While Europe is doing NATO military drills and building stronger ties to stop Russia, the US seems confused and changing its position.
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Trump's advisor Keith Kellogg said it's 'fair' for Russia to worry about NATO expanding into Ukraine. Kellogg also said the US doesn't support Ukraine joining NATO right now, and other countries also feel the same. He added that Russia is also worried about Georgia and Moldova joining NATO. But Kellogg said Trump is still angry at Putin for attacking Ukrainian cities and called him unreasonable, as per ABC News report.
Kellogg said the total number of people killed or injured in the Ukraine war is around 1.2 million. He said nearly 1 million Russians are either dead or can't fight anymore, including 500,000 killed or too injured to return to war. Petraeus said Russia is not interested in peace yet and wants to grab more land before making any deal.
Even though Ukraine offered a 30-day ceasefire many times, Russia said no and wants its own demands met first. Trump has changed his attitude a bit now and called Putin's actions 'absolutely crazy', but still hasn't done enough to push Putin into peace talks, as per Mail Online report.
FAQs
Q1. Which country would Russia attack after Ukraine?
Experts say Lithuania might be next if Russia wins in Ukraine.
Q2. Why is the U.S. being criticized in this situation?
For being slow to send weapons and help to Ukraine.
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