At Defence Finance Monitor we have long argued that Russia’s behavior should not be seen as a string of isolated provocations. Vladimir Putin has adopted a gradual strategy of pressure designed to test not only the technical effectiveness of Western defense systems but, above all, the political resilience of commitments undertaken by the United States and Europe. Each incursion is part of a deliberate pattern meant to probe the limits of Western resolve. The real focus is political: to expose how declarations of unity and mutual defense can weaken under sustained pressure.