Russia has capacity for a limited attack against NATO territory at any time but a decision to act would depend on the Western allies’ posture, a top German military official warned.
“If you look at Russia’s current capabilities and combat power, Russia could kick off a small-scale attack against NATO territory as early as tomorrow,” Lieutenant General Alexander Sollfrank told Reuters in an interview.
“Small, quick, regionally limited, nothing big - Russia is too tied down in Ukraine for that.”
This is their Gerasimov Doctrine: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_generation_warfare?wprov=sfti1
And “the west” isn’t prepared for it, they’ve used it multiple times successfully.
The basic idea is that hybrid warfare cheaper than normal war. Russia has also made it 100% legal to use their military to “rescue” Russians from other countries. So in their eyes they’re doing the right thing.
Tactical and Strategic Truths.