We estimate that Russia can to support its war economy for 3 to 4 more years a high-ranking NATO official told Reuters in the context of the Alliance Summit in Washington.

Russia recruits about 30,000 soldiers a monthwhich allows her to take heavy losses on the battlefield, but she will counter long-term economic and social impacts the NATO official pointed out.

Vladimir Putin puts heavy pressure on Europe on ‘multiple fronts’ including covert campaign with assassination planssabotage and arson to undermine common support in Ukraine he added.

The credibility of the Alliance is being judged in Ukraine, DW comments. James Goldgeier, professor of International Relations at the American University of Washington, speaks of a Summit in troubled times. Former US Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Ian Brzezinski believes, however, that NATO’s future success will depend on how effectively the Alliance supports Ukraine: “The critical question is whether member countries will take necessary measures to ensure NATO’s deterrent credibility for the next 75 years. The key issue is what the Alliance will do, and what it won’t do, to help Kiev thwart Russian plans to take over Ukraine, and on the Alliance’s and Kiev’s terms.”