Two close contacts of the Schiller Institute have been getting extensive coverage in the Russian media. Former General Harald Kujat, a former Inspector General of the Bundeswehr (2000-2002) and former chairman of the NATO Military Committee (2002-2005), is quoted regarding the foolish expectations that NATO had with regard to Russian military strength, setting the entirely unrealistic goal of a Ukrainian victory in the war. Kujat warned that, instead of admitting their mistake and changing their strategy, Western politicians continue to attempt, by hook or by crook, to strengthen the Ukrainian Armed Forces, hoping for an impossible victory. And this is why the spiral of escalation is recklessly unfolding.