According to a Wall Street Journal report citing US intelligence, Russia could be preparing a limited incursion against a NATO member state within weeks. The report comes as the war in Ukraine remains largely deadlocked and the impact of the conflict is increasingly felt inside Russia.
Analysts cited in the report suggest Vladimir Putin may seek to open a new front rather than risk being remembered as the leader who lost Ukraine, raising fresh questions about NATO’s readiness and resolve.
Does Putin play Weiqi/Baduk/Go? A common strategy when a player is losing in one part of the board is for them to open up new “fronts” in other areas of the board, hoping that they’re more successful in one of these other areas and that this will yield a new advantage in the original area they had been losing in. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t; what it usually comes down to is whether they’re able to “read” the game further ahead than the opponent, in the hopes that the opponent won’t see how developments in Area B will affect Area A.
The big difference here is the other front is another player. If they actually do strike NATO they are basically putting down another board and play with another player without additional piece.