Consider a hypothetical scenario.

It’s 2030. In 2025, Russia compelled Ukraine to a concessionary peace. Desperate for a boost to their sclerotic economies, European Union members quickly released Russia from sanctions. Emboldened by his victory, Putin has spent the interceding years dreaming of the next steps toward building a new Russian imperium. Watching the United States lose 10,000 service personnel in a brutal 2027 war to defend Taiwan, Putin believes Americans won’t support yet another war in Europe to defend a far-flung land. Seeing Peter the Great in the mirror, Putin decides Estonia is up for the taking.

Recommended Stories

Trump rightly cuts Germany troop levels, but should redeploy some forces to Poland

With Trump’s support, Poland draws a red line in the sky for Putin

An American conservative lesson in Estonia’s Die Hard Christmas