Russian strategists argue its military needs more robust systems to defend against a NATO surprise attack that would come in the form of conventional missile strikes, a warning that comes as NATO conducts a massive exercise near Russia's northern border. How exactly NATO would attack Russia in this scenario is unclear, though the Russian analysts seem to be describing what the US military would call "multi-domain operations." The attack would be preceded by "provocations" to justify a war, as well as the deployment of forces near Russia. This perceived NATO strategy of massive strikes risks compelling Russia to use its nuclear weapons, especially tactical nukes, to defend itself. Ironically, the missile strike that Russian military experts accuse the West of planning is a mirror image of how Russia itself would fight a war.

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Persons: —, David Petraeus, Cpl, Christopher Hernandez, That's, Julian Waller, Michael Peck Organizations: Service, NATO, TASS, Russian Aerospace Forces, CIA, Army, Marine Corps, US, Corps, Nordic, Kremlin, Russian Air Force, Center for Naval Analyses, West, Defense, Foreign Policy, Rutgers Univ, Twitter, LinkedIn Locations: Russia, Russia's, Ukraine, Andenes, Norway, Finland, Sweden, Barents, Arlington , Virginia, Forbes