How Russia’s salami strategy is testing NATO and the West
Russian President Vladimir Putin (L), Vice President Sergey Kiriyenko (Kirienko) (R) Sarov on August 22, 2025, Sarov, Russia visited the entire Russian Scientific Research Institute.
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Russia’s suspicious drone attacks on Poland are seen as part of a “salami-sishing” strategy designed to test the West’s determination.
With geopolitical terms, Salam-Sishing refers to a series of increasing steps to advance its strategic position without provoking a major counter-reaction.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is often said to have deployed this tactic to question the defense alliance of NATO and analysts recently violation Estonia’s airspace, Quiet expansion Georgia and the Russian border Crimean invasion In 2014.
Moscow’s unprecedented Polish airspace violation is said to be another salami-sishing example.
In the early hours of Wednesday, Poland said that he had mixed his own and NATO planes to download some of the 19 Russian drones entering the airspace. In February 2022, Russia’s full -scale Ukrainian invasion pointed to the first example.
While the Western allies quickly condemned that they defined it as a deliberate provocation, the Russian Ministry of Defense said it did not plan to attack any target in Poland.
In the meantime, Kremlin, Poland and other European countries NATO ally “something new” as a rejection of the attack on the attack, he said he would not comment more about the situation.
The Russian Embassy in London and the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comments.
Benjamin Godwin, a partner of Risk Counseling Prism Strategic Intelligence, said that the Russian war games strategy is to produce, push and test the West.
For Godwin, some of the problem for NATO is clear that the defense alliance does not want to enter into a direct conflict with Russia, which has an asymmetric effect for Russia.
“For example, we saw attacks on Estonia airspace, obviously this attack on Poland [and] As CNBC said on Friday, “Europe Early Edition”, we saw electronic war in Europe.
“So, Russia, as we said in the UK, Salam-Islaming roads and NATO’s efforts to stop these efforts in a way to effectively proved to respond.”
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on Wednesday in question A complete assessment of Russia’s entry into Poland continues and added that it was “really impressed” as the allies react.
Test tactics
Following Russia’s entry into Poland, NATO allies took steps to support the defenses in Europe’s eastern wing, introduced the possibility of more economic sanctions and held an Emergency UN Security Council meeting on Friday.
However, analysts argued that only a solid political and military reaction would be sufficient to deterd Putin.
For example, Godwin called on NATO to rethink the defense stance and the beings he distributed to the eastern wing of Europe.
Firefighters extinguished the fire at the Burning School after the Russian drone attack in Kramatorsk and Ukraine on September 10, 2025.
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Oksana Nechypayenko, a senior man in the Eurasian Center of the Atlantic Council induced Softening against the Violation of the West’s Russia’s Poland airspace, the next blow will be so difficult.
“Ukrainians say that Putin has been fighting not only against Ukraine, but especially Europe,” Nechypayans said. He said.
“Always testing the tactics using the ‘salami strategy’: it is called something ugly, waiting for the world’s reaction, and it pushes more.”
Poland’s Tusk to Trump: This was not a mistake
US President On Wednesday, Donald Trump answered an uncertain response to Russia’s entry into Poland this week.
“What’s wrong with Russia to violate Poland with drones? Here we are starting!” Embers in question In a social media post, without further elaboration.
The US President watched his comments about real Social. journalists Russia may have made a mistake in the White House.
“This could be a mistake, but no matter what, I’m not satisfied with anything about the whole situation.” He said.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk seemed to be exempt Trump’s last words. On social media post“We wish the drone attack on Poland to be a mistake. But it wasn’t. And we know that.”
Trump previously asked the EU to hit China and India with tariffs up to 100% compared to Russian oil purchases, and tried to cut an important source of income that financed Putin’s war machine.
