NATO Has Switched to War Footing With Russia

Vladimir Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has spurred NATO members to plan in detail what has been unthinkable since the end of the Cold War—a direct conflict with Russia. However, ahead of the bloc’s summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, starting on July 11 when countering Russia will be top of the agenda, Sir Richard Shirreff, the former Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe, said NATO was not ready for a war with Moscow. “It needs a real kick up the backside,” he told Newsweek, as he took aim at dwindling military budgets across alliance members, although there are exceptions, such as Poland….