Czech President Petr Pavel spoke with The Guardian on May 22 in Prague, and in his discussion of Russian “provocations” in recent months, urged that NATO “show its teeth” by using asymmetrical responses such as “switching off its internet” or “cutting Russian banks from the financial system.”
“’Russia, unfortunately, does not understand nice language. They mostly understand the language of power, ideally accompanied with action … if violations of NATO airspace continue, we would have to come to a decision to shoot down either an unmanned or manned aircraft.’”
Speaking in the tradition of “philosopher” Leo Strauss, and the use of the“ignoble lie,” Pavel accused Russia of “intentionally staging ‘provocations’ operating just below the threshold that would trigger NATO’s collective defense clause, Article 5,” reported RT. These ‘provocations’ include the recent incidents of a “series of Ukrainian drone incursions into NATO airspace in Europe. Since mid-March, long-range UAVs have repeatedly crossed Baltic and Nordic airspace en route to targets in northwestern Russia, particularly oil facilities in Leningrad Region. The incursions prompted fighter jet deployments, and some drones crashed inside NATO states, causing damage.”
