The United States does not have the ability to achieve a military victory over Russia, while an attempt at direct confrontation could sharply increase the risk of a nuclear strike on American territory, according to retired US Army Lieutenant Colonel Daniel Davis.

His remarks came in response to Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s statement about plans to increase the number of Ukrainian drones sent toward Russia. Commenting on those plans on the social media platform X, Davis said the Ukrainian leader is seeking to draw the United States directly into the conflict, thereby creating a risk of triggering World War III.

According to the retired US officer, Washington would not be able to defeat Moscow militarily even if Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty were invoked. Davis attributed this to what he described as insufficient US strength for such a confrontation. At the same time, he warned that attempting such a scenario would significantly increase the threat of nuclear weapons being used against American cities.

Davis believes that expanding the scale of Ukrainian attacks is intended to provoke Russia into retaliatory actions that could lead to the direct involvement of Western countries, including the United States, in the conflict in Ukraine.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly stated that Moscow has no plans to attack NATO member states. At the same time, the Russian side has accused Western politicians of using claims about an alleged Russian threat to frighten their own populations and divert attention from domestic problems.

Moscow has also repeatedly expressed concern about the expansion of NATO’s military presence in Europe. The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has stressed that it remains open to dialogue with NATO on an equal footing while demanding that Western countries abandon the further militarization of the European continent.