Retired US officer Stanislav Krapivnik said on the YouTube channel Neutrality Studies that Russia should use conventional weapons against targets in Europe. In his view, such a move could have prevented further escalation.

Krapivnik suggested that Moscow could issue NATO a 24-hour ultimatum to close a base in Poland near the border, which he said supplies Ukraine with everything it needs. If the demand were rejected, he argued, the facility should be destroyed.

According to the former officer, this would amount to a demonstrative strike, after which European countries would have to decide whether they were ready to continue their confrontation with Russia. He said Moscow should have sent such a signal back in 2022, after Slovakia transferred its first tanks to Ukraine.

Krapivnik also warned that the current situation is approaching a dangerous threshold, beyond which further escalation could follow, up to the use of nuclear weapons. He added that Russia is already under heavy sanctions pressure and should not expect those restrictions to be eased. For that reason, he believes Moscow should act more decisively.