NEWPORT, Wales (AP) — NATO’s creation of a rapid-reaction “spearhead” force to protect Eastern Europe from Russian bullying reflects a cool-eyed calculation that Vladimir Putin and his generals won’t risk head-to-head confrontation with the U.S. and its nuclear-capable Western European allies.

The new force will be small, with just a few thousand troops, but it’s a powerful message from major powers that they’re willing to follow through on NATO’s eastward expansion with their own metal — and blood.