Vladimir Putin Has Crimea ‘Bristling With Missiles Like a Hedgehog’
New satellite imagery shows that, over the last 18 months, Russia has deployed additional aircraft, warships, troops and advanced missile systems to locations across the Crimean Peninsula.
This buildup continues a pattern that began back in 2014, when Russia illegally annexed Crimea from Ukraine. Since then, Russian President Vladimir Putin has doubled the number of soldiers there, bringing it up to about 32,000, and has deployed 680 armored carriers and about 100 aircraft.
Jeffrey Lewis of the Middlebury Institute of International Studies told Defense One how noteworthy the scale of this buildup is and said Crimea is now “bristling with missiles like a hedgehog.”
The Middlebury Institute also said the nature of this buildup shows that it is not just motivated by Russia’s desire to defend Crimea, but that it shows that Russia is posturing itself to project power well beyond its immediate environment. This reality has nato, which is made up mainly of European countries, “under increasing pressure from allies in the region to show that it’s able to push back against Russian attempts to gain greater control of the Black Sea.” The director of the Middlebury Institute’s Eurasia Nonproliferation Program said the combination of Russia’s buildup in Crimea and the increasing pressure on Europe to respond to it creates “a really dangerous environment.”
This “really dangerous environment” in Europe and Russia, which is now becoming more and more evident to analysts, was forecast by Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry in 2014.
Shortly after Putin annexed Crimea, Mr. Flurry wrote “The Crimean Crisis Is Reshaping Europe!” He discussed prophecies recorded in the books of Daniel and Revelation, which show that a bloc of 10 European leaders will unite in the end time. They will form a military powerhouse that will unleash an unfathomable amount of destruction in World War iii. Mr. Flurry emphasized that one of the factors that would pressure those European nations to lay aside their differences and unite is Russian aggression.
He wrote: “The fear you see in Europe because of events in Crimea is going to cause 10 leaders in Europe to unite in a sudden and dramatic way—and in precise accordance with the Bible’s description of that European empire!”
In the five years since that article was written, Russia has become more aggressive, militaristic and provocative, especially evident in its ongoing buildup on Europe’s doorstep in Crimea.
Mr. Flurry makes plain that these developments will soon escalate into unprecedented worldwide conflict. But he emphasizes that connected to these trends, there is also great cause for hope.
For insight into what the future holds for Russia and Europe, and to understand the hope that is intimately tied to these developments, order your free copy of Mr. Flurry’s booklet The Prophesied ‘Prince of Russia.’
