Путін спостерігає за реакцією Заходу на коронавірус

The coronavirus crisis reveals weaknesses of the West – so the enemies of the USA and EU are paying great attention to use them in future conflict.

The Foreign Policy report it. Europe is in trouble. Millions of people are quarantined? the private sector is on its knees, governments are trying to resist absolutely unexpected opponent, saving some kind of order. And it’s just COCID-19. Imagine the effect of an additional crisis committed by one of the enemy of West in such moment.

“God is watching us from afar” – sung Bette Midler/ American and european leaders can be sure that someone else is also watching them from far away: Russia president Vladimir Putin and other heads of countries which oppose the West.

Coronavirus reduced the military activity of the West. On 18th of March Norway and nine allies(including Great Britain and US) called back “Cold Response 2020” – united defense studies for Northern and Central Norway. Also a large-scale study “European Defender 2020” involving about 40 000 US soldiers who are practising rapid deployment in Europe and moving across the continent, was halted.

“European Defender 2020” was supposed to be complicated exercise involving 20 000 american soldiers and 20 000 gadgets. European soldiers and techniques had had to meet american military and machinery, and also european military to move to the eastern front of NATO. As no such exercises have been conducted for a quarter of a century, Defender Europe 20 is vital. Its cancellation shows opponents of the United States and the European Union how weak NATO can be in certain circumstances.

The virus had already hit Jaroslav Mick, general of the Polish Armed Forces, and had forced his colleague, Lieutenant General Christopher Cavoli, commander of the US Army in Europe, to go into isolation.

Propaganda publications supporting Russia and China are already producing coronavirus misinformation aimed at creating chaos in the West. “The coronavirus could have come from Latvia,” said Sputnik Latvia on March 15, and another Russian propaganda department, Geopolitica.ru, said the coronavirus could be created in the US as a biological weapon. Chinese diplomats, in turn, participate in a concerted misinformation campaign, for example, suggesting that the coronavirus was created by the US Army.

Mostly, the coronavirus remains the only major challenge for Western countries. One can safely assume that Putin and his colleagues look at the failures of Europe and the United States with inspiration, and even more so, they use it for propaganda purposes. The Coronavirus is a great opportunity for Western opponents to watch the countries cope – or not cope – with the great crisis.

After all, the enemy can take advantage of the crisis. Russia, China, Iran, North Korea or proxies acting on their behalf could use this opportunity to conduct mass cyber-attacks against Western targets.

According to the 2019 cyber readiness report compiled by the worldwide insurer Hiscox, over 61% of companies in major Western economies, including the US, reported a cyberattack in the previous 12 months, up 45% from last year.