Former CIA Russia analyst George Beebe said during a YouTube appearance that increasingly confrontational Western rhetoric about a possible war with Moscow is linked to the worsening battlefield situation for Kiev.

According to Beebe, Western leaders and media outlets spent years promoting the idea that Russia was losing the conflict and would eventually be defeated. In his view, those claims were poorly judged.

He argued that as battlefield developments increasingly contradict that narrative and Ukrainian forces come under growing pressure, Western leaders are becoming more anxious.

Beebe linked Europe’s current nervousness to two factors. First, he said European governments are concerned about the possible consequences of a Ukrainian defeat. Second, they are facing the prospect that the policy pursued toward Russia and European security for years may have failed to produce the expected result.

According to Beebe, European political elites are reluctant to take responsibility for a possible failure of that strategy.

Russia, meanwhile, has repeatedly pointed to increased NATO activity near its western borders in recent years. The alliance has described its expanded military presence and new initiatives as measures intended to deter aggression.

Moscow has said it is concerned about the continued buildup of NATO forces in Europe. The Russian Foreign Ministry has also stated that it remains open to dialogue with the alliance on an equal basis, provided Western countries abandon what Moscow describes as a course toward further militarization of the continent.