NATO-linked pundits say Russia is set for 'regional war' in Europe, but do the facts back it up?

There's no shortage of expert pieces these days that sound the alarm over Russia's "assertive" policies, with the bulk of the fearmongering expertise coming from other side of the Atlantic. This time though, two Germans, Joachim Krause, the head of the Institute for Security Policy, and retired three-star general Heinrich Brauss, took over the lead.

According to a bizarre Die Welt op-ed they contributed to, Moscow under Putin "is preparing – totally unprovoked – for regional wars in Europe, which they want to end with the help of nuclear weapons threats." And those "war preparations" are happening at a time "when our political attention is shrouded in climate change, the migration crisis, the EU crisis and many other issues."

If a war breaks out, Moscow could try a "surprise attack... which would be underpinned by nuclear threats before NATO can effectively respond," the pair asserted. Echoing some Pentagon hawks, they singled out Baltic states and Poland as the first victims of the Russian offensive.

Also on rt.com US ‘outgunned & outmatched’ by Russia in Europe, claims top general seeking budget increase...

The arguments by reputed pundits might look plausible, but experts interviewed by RT believe that the opposite is true. "NATO did what they could do... to pose a military threat to the Russian Federation," said Willy Wimmer, former vice-president of the OSCE's Parliamentary Assembly.

Likewise, the EU is militarizing itself as it pursues "an old Anglo-Saxon idea" of isolating Russia from the rest of Europe.

Like many other Russia-bashing articles, Die Welt's publication wouldn't be complete without claiming that Moscow "purposefully interferes with our democracies." It also complained that NATO can't do anything to tackle it. "Everything that Russia is doing is not recognized in Western circles," commented Peter Schulze, professor at the reputed University of Goettingen.

Moscow "is visibly demonized, this is a tragic situation we're all in," he lamented. Regrettably, these allegations are nothing out of the ordinary as "the majority of German experts are floating the mainstream, and the mainstream [says] that Russia is responsible, Russia is a demon, Russia is an aggressor."

The publication repeatedly made reference to the Russian strategic mindset which allegedly allows for nuclear weapons to be used alongside conventional ones. It also seeks to "exploit the weaknesses of the other side while avoiding being exploited by the enemy."

Such claims are disconnected from reality and make little sense, according to Schulze. "No one wants a nuclear war, not even the die-hard [politicians] in the West or the most conservative elements in the Kremlin," he stated.

Interestingly, the authors didn't deviate much from the official word of NATO. Its latest military strategy decries"challenges in the east and the south" of Europe and cites a commonly hyped "nuclear threat" from Moscow.

Obviously, "there's nothing objective in this report" because Krause and Brauss were "just repeating [an agenda] coming out from NATO headquarters and Brussels."

The experts "have a mission to fulfil, namely to come out from time to time with so-called reports [on Russia]," he concluded. The story comes as NATO builds up forces and upgrades its infrastructure in the east of Europe. The bloc has repeatedly staged various war games on its 'eastern flank' focusing on protecting the Baltics and Poland against the elusive "Russian aggression."