The Return of Great Powers: Russia, China, and the Next World War

by Jim Sciutto

As relations between Russia and NATO have worsened, Moscow has looked for new opportunities to threaten and disrupt the alliance. In 2018, Russia deployed nuclear-capable Iskander missiles to Kaliningrad, according to Russian state media. The Lithuanian government has since publicly warned that Russia has put nuclear warheads into place as well. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and other senior US officials have told me the US believes Russia knows it cannot credibly take on the alliance. But do NATO commanders agree? A NATO COMMANDER’S VIEW “I hope that this is really the case,” Rear Admiral and Commanding Officer Marx said. Like the seasoned commander he is, with more than three decades in the German Navy, Marx takes care to consider all possibilities. “If the regime is under so much pressure—so in danger—that it needs to take measures of last resort, then you never know what will happen in this regard. But at the moment, I think by clear strategic messaging, by making sure that the capabilities [are] available and operating in the vicinity, at least the communication and the messages are [delivered] in such a way that there is no room for misunderstandings.”