Nikolai Patrushev
Nikolai Patrushev is a Russian security official and former KGB/FSB officer. He served as Secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation from 2008 to 2024. Earlier he headed the Federal Security Service (FSB) from 1999 to 2008 and was part of Vladimir Putin's inner circle. He is widely regarded as an architect of the Kremlin's hardline stance toward the West and Ukraine.
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NATO's top general says Alliance is ready for possible Russian escalation on eastern flank
NATO Military Committee Chair Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone said on 19 September in Copenhagen that the Alliance is ready to respond to a possible escalation by Russia on NATO's eastern flank. Speaking at a meeting of the 32 highest-ranking NATO generals, Dragone said NATO has around 4,000 pages of military plans covering scenarios from a minimal crisis to intervention on Alliance territory, and is continuing to build up forces in numbers and equipment.