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An emboldened Putin goes after Nato

Moscow’s plan is not to launch another war. Instead, it is seeking through airspace violations to discredit and ultimately destroy the alliance’s security arrangements in Europe.

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Soldiers operate near Polish Abrams tank as Polish forces with NATO soldiers hold military exercises 'Iron Defender', at a military range in Poland, on Sept 17.

Soldiers operate near Polish Abrams tank as Polish forces with NATO soldiers hold military exercises 'Iron Defender', at a military range in Poland, on Sept 17.

PHOTO: REUTERS

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First came the drones. Then came the fighter jets. Over the past two weeks, Russian offensive weapons – both manned and unmanned – have

violated the airspace

of three European states: Poland, Romania and Estonia.

The choice of countries was hardly coincidental. The Poles are located at the heart of the continent, the Romanians are on Europe’s south-eastern edges, while the Estonians are on Europe’s north-west extremities, so violating their airspace indicated a continent-wide threat.

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