“As for the Baltic states, Russia has long been encroaching on them. There is a lot of negative reflection towards the Baltic states because Russia believes that the Baltic states were the first dominoes that triggered the events that led to the collapse of the Soviet Union. They cannot be forgiven for this,” the expert noted.

According to Stupak, the Baltic states have been expecting an attack from Russia for more than four years.

“Back in 2020, off the record, the military (of the Baltic states - ed.) said that they expected an attack from Russia. Even then, four years ago, they said that no one would defend them. They argued that it would take NATO 180 days to deploy a rapid response force, and during that time 'we would all be slaughtered.' This is a literal quote,” he said.

Stupak emphasized that although NATO has revised the timeline for deploying the forces, it still does not provide guarantees for any of the countries.

“Let's be honest: NATO is a big collective farm. There is no one big CEO, there is a Secretary General, and all decisions are made unanimously. If one or two countries say no, then no Article 5 will be activated,” the expert added.

In conclusion, he suggested that Russia could organize small special operations, for example, in the Narva area of Estonia, to test NATO.

“To summarize: what Russia has been doing in the Baltic Sea for the last year, when it jams GPS, exposing planes and ships to danger, can be partly seen as preparation not for a full-scale invasion, because it has no forces now, but for a long war in the style of 'I cannot capture, but I will harm',” Stupak said.

He explained that there could be a “small special operation” in such a small location as Narva to show NATO that it can do nothing.

Earlier today, Politico described a possible scenario of how Russia could try to seize part of Estonia.

It was about the city of Narva, which is located between Estonia and Russia.

It should be noted that back in May, the head of Poland's military counterintelligence service, Jarosław Stróżyk, said that Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin was ready for a small military operation against a NATO country. According to him, it could be Narva or a Swedish island.

According to the head of state, today he received reports from the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Oleksandr Syrskyi, and Defense Minister Rustem Umerov.

“Front. Supply. It is very important that the United States is now increasing supplies. This is necessary to level the playing field. I am grateful to our partners. And the pace of supply should be such that it slows down the pace of Russian assaults,” Zelenskyy emphasized.

He clarified that Ukraine needs strong positions for diplomacy. And every unit and brigade that ensures this brings the possibility of sustainable peace closer.

The Head of State thanked the 90th, 80th, 82nd separate air assault brigades and the 68th separate hunting brigade for their resilience and courage in this week's battles. He also mentioned the 225th and 425th separate assault battalions.

“I would also like to recognize all our soldiers who are carrying out long-range strikes on the territory of Russia. And we have the right, necessary results in destroying the enemy's military infrastructure, and only that: Ukraine is defending itself against aggression, and our strikes are aimed exclusively at military targets,” the President added.

He thanked the Armed Forces, the Security Service of Ukraine, the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine, and foreign intelligence for their accuracy.

Help from the United States

Before the inauguration of Donald Trump, the administration of US President Joe Biden increased military aid to Ukraine.

Over the past month, Washington has already announced several new military aid packages.

Also on December 20, Reuters wrote that the United States may announce a military aid package for Ukraine in the coming days, which will include weapons worth $1.2 billion. In particular, it will include missiles for air defense and artillery shells.