Judging Freedom Scott Ritter : Russia Near To Its Military Goals.
Nov 26, 2025
Scott Ritter, a former U.S. Marine intelligence officer and expert on military affairs, dives deep into the current state of Russia's military objectives. He explains the unstoppable nature of the Ereshnik missile and its potential to escalate conflicts. Ritter warns of a new arms race reminiscent of the Cold War and critiques Ukraine's military strategies and battlefield challenges. With insights on Russia's economic pressures and the influence of back-channel diplomacy, he assesses the likelihood of a Russian victory and the impact of U.S. hawks in the ongoing conflict.
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Oreshnik Changes Escalation Calculus
- The Oreshnik is an intermediate-range conventional missile that alters escalation dynamics without immediate nuclear use.
- Scott Ritter warns it creates destabilizing escalatory capability because it is effectively unstoppable by Western defenses.
INF's End Rekindles Intermediate Arms Race
- The collapse of INF has reopened an intermediate-range arms competition reminiscent of the Cold War.
- Ritter believes New START should be extended to buy time for negotiating limits on new systems like Oreshnik and Poseidon.
Extend New START To Buy Negotiating Time
- Extend New START as-is to buy negotiating time rather than trying to rewrite it immediately.
- Use that pause to negotiate inclusion of anti-ballistic and INF-like constraints for new Russian systems.
