US News and World Report quotes Eurasia Center Nonresident Research Fellow Laura Linderman on Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu’s announcement that the Russian military will conduct bomber patrols around the world:
If Shoigu’s announced plans were to materialize, the Russian flights would constitute the most significant Russian international military escalation since the Cold War. By some standards, bomber sorties in the Gulf of Mexico would surpass even Cold War-era tensions, as Russian forces reportedly did not routinely patrol North America’s southern flank. “Such a policy is highly reminiscent of Soviet military activity during the Cold War,” says Laura Linderman, a research fellow with the Dinu Patriciu Eurasia Center at the Atlantic Council. “This is a calculated escalation by Moscow to see just how far they can push the U.S.”
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In Washington, the response to all this activity and rhetoric has not been particularly well-defined. “Russia is invading Ukraine, but the administration will not call it an invasion. Is this a strategy?” asks Linderman. “As far as I can tell, in the run-up to this situation, the administration has not shown itself to be sufficiently strategic.”