NATO trying to get better at predicting Russia’s next move: Latvian commander
OTTAWA — While NATO is determined to improve its ability to predict the Kremlin’s next move, a senior Latvian commander concedes that Russian President Vladimir Putin has managed to keep the military alliance guessing in recent years.
“The Kremlin so far has been winning in surprising us,” Latvian army commander Col. Ilmars Lejins told The Canadian Press during a visit to Ottawa on Thursday.
“We’re always second guessing. The West as a whole, NATO as a whole. Let’s say it very frankly, we have been surprised every time Putin makes a move.”
Among the victories credited to Moscow’s unpredictability is its invasion of Georgia in 2008 and its annexation of Crimea in 2014 and subsequent support for separatist rebels in eastern Ukraine.