Former Trump Envoy Warns Russia Could Test NATO With Limited Land Grab

What was said

"I do worry you would have probably the United States and many European countries saying, 'Oh, well, that's over. Let's not get into a full-scale war with Russia. We need to deescalate. There's no military solution. We got to have a negotiated diplomatic out.' Those are the things you'll hear and that's what would delight Putin because then he has just done one little thing and shown that article 5 is not as clear as people make it sound and then he can start playing games with that."

Kurt Volker, former US ambassador to NATO under Trump, warns that Russia could attempt a limited one-day incursion into NATO territory to test Article 5 commitments. He predicts the US and European allies would likely advocate for de-escalation rather than military response, which would expose weakness in NATO's collective defense pledge. Volker argues NATO must delegate immediate military response authority to prevent political paralysis.