MILAN — As Ukraine weighs a U.S.-imposed peace deal deemed unfavorable to Kyiv, Russia could be ready to challenge NATO again soon after the weapons go silent, experts warned at a Baltic security conference last week.

“You might not choose to have a war with the Russians, but the Russians are certainly choosing to prepare to conduct a war against you,” George Barros, lead analyst on Russia and geospatial intelligence at the Institute for the Study of War, said during a panel at the Defending the Baltics 2025 conference. “We’re watching every day how they’re preparing their economy, operational concepts and their military thinking about the next war.”

Barros estimated NATO would have 12 months to prepare for fresh provocations after the end of fighting in Ukraine. “We have a lot less time

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