U.S. European Command Chief Says Alleged Russian Buildup Has ‘Plateaued’

April 16 , 2021 (EIRNS)—Gen. Tod Wolters, Commander of NATO and U.S. European Command, vowed in testimony before the House Armed Services Committee yesterday that the Alliance is prepared to respond to Russian aggression. “We deter, and if deterrence fails, we’re prepared to respond to aggression with the full weight of the trans-Atlantic alliance,” he said. Wolters said it is “of great concern, and our vigilance is high,” as a “very, very large” Russian ground force had moved near Crimea and Donbas, with shifts in air and maritime forces as well. He further said that Russia’s efforts to move supply lines forward had, however, “plateaued.” Wolters said the chances of an invasion, while hinging on a variety of factors, would likely start to diminish beyond the next two weeks based on the current trajectory of Russian forces. “My sense is, with the trend that I see right now, the likelihood of an occurrence will start to wane,” he said.

Testifying alongside Wolters was Laura Cooper, assistant secretary of defense for Russia, Ukraine and Eurasia. “The President is taking hard and fast action with appropriately tailored responses to provide a clear signal of our resolve without escalation,” she declared. One wag observed that what she likely meant with such gobbledygook is this: “We are on the verge of World War III, likely leading to a chain reaction deployment of 15,000 nuclear weapons.” Cooper, it turns out, is a holdover from the Trump Administration is a stout advocate for arming Ukraine and who testified against President Donald Trump during the first impeachment trial despite being warned not to. She is described as a career civil servant but is clearly a wholly owned property of the military-industrial complex which now has its claws so deeply inserted into the Democratic Party.