Rapid escalation of Ukraine crisis fuels fear of confrontation between Russia and the West

Russia, careening toward economic crisis under the weight of devastating Western sanctions, has put its nuclear forces on alert [the first time that has occurred since the 1991 formation of the Russian Federation] as the Kremlin’s siege of Ukraine intensifies.

The United States and its NATO partners have sent thousands of troops and advanced weaponry to harden defenses in the alliance’s eastern flank while funneling billions of dollars worth of military hardware to Kyiv...

There is no deconfliction line — nor, according to U.S. officials,* does Moscow seem interested in one.

*“There is no deconfliction mechanism in place right now. But certainly we understand the importance of deconfliction particularly now that the airspace over Ukraine is contested and some of that airspace butts right up against NATO territory,” Pentagon press secretary John Kirby told reporters Monday.

There are no indications Russia is interested in such an efforts, he added, saying, “It’s got to be a two-way street.”

We need one of them deconfliction things.

Russia has nearly 6,000 warheads, slightly more than the United States’ approximately 5,400, according to the Federation of American Scientists.

 ...

The rapid escalation, observers say, has made the once-theoretical risk of direct confrontation between Russia and the West a tangible possibility with little hope of the tension subsiding, maybe for years to come.

“My worry is that there’s a miscalculation, a misunderstanding, an accident, a mistake” that touches off more widespread conflict, said Jim Townsend, who managed Europe and NATO policy at the Pentagon during the Obama administration.

“How long could we have this kind of risk? … I don’t see it ending.”

That is the problem, right? We have no strategic goal. It's all in-the-moment tactical reactions.  The odds must be pretty good that tensions this high, continuing indefinitely, "maybe for years", that "a miscalculation, a misunderstanding, an accident, a mistake" occurs. That just stands to reason. 

The undersigned has lauded the Bidens repeatedly for the accuracy of their intelligence and their actions on it. However that advance notice has not led to development of a strategic plan. We're on a "two-way street"--we can go first, we don't have to wait for the other guy!

 What if Putin's nuclear escalation is deliberate? What if his strategic goal is a final nuclear showdown with NATO-Europe and the United States? What if it is not a miscalculation or accident that we have most to "worry" about but a preemptive thermonuclear strike on the West, including America? From all that I have read we have given no thought to that contingency.