The Cold War might have ended decades ago, but the U.S. and NATO are now in a "hot war" with Russia through a proxy in Ukraine, according to a political risk consultancy group leader.
"We are not in a Cold War with Russia; we're in a hot war with Russia," Eurasia Group President Ian Bremmer told DW News on Friday. "Now, it's proxy war and NATO is not fighting it directly: We're fighting it through Ukraine."
The latest lethal weapons aid from the U.S. to Ukraine is proof positive of the proxy war being waged, according to Bremmer.
"But you see the more advanced military equipment that's being provided to Ukraine, literally every day this week, Ukraine can defend itself and Russia cannot win this war on the ground, can't win this war in the air, and yet Russia's position globally is deteriorating every day," he said.
"Its economy is contracting. NATO is becoming stronger and expanding. Ukraine itself is going to be one of the most powerful military forces in all of NATO. And diplomatically the Russians are becoming isolated."
Ultimately, Putin and Russia are going to expand their attention beyond the ground in Ukraine to attack NATO allies — even if it is the modern warfare of cyber attacks and disinformation, according to Bremmer.
"The fact that Putin sees this as a war he is losing against NATO on the ground in Ukraine means this is going to increasingly affect NATO states directly," he said.
Bremmer said Putin has "made this tremendous mistake" in misjudging Russia's ability to take parts of Ukraine.
"Vladimir Putin made the biggest misjudgment of any major leader on the global stage in decades when he invaded Ukraine," Bremmer said.
Russia has become a global pariah, taking the mantle from Iran as the most dangerous rogue nation in the world," he said.
"In 2023, unfortunately, I don't think we will be able to talk about this as only a Russian war in Ukraine," he concluded. "I think it's broader than that."
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