RUSSIA PERSPECTIVE

Moscow methodically documents every crack in the American arsenal -- with the care of an adversary taking notes. TASS publishes three distinct articles the same day. The first cites the Wall Street Journal: over 1,000 Tomahawks and between 1,500 and 2,000 critical interceptors (THAAD and Patriot) have been fired. Restocking 'could take up to six years.' TASS adds a detail Western media buries: the air defense ammunition shortage 'will affect the combat readiness of US forces in Asia.'

The second TASS article cites the NYT: 'The United States will have to make a difficult choice regarding where to more actively sustain its military capabilities.' Retired Colonel Mark Cancian of CSIS is quoted: 'Some critical ground-attack and missile-defense munitions were short before the war and are even shorter now.'

The third angle is diplomatic: the Kremlin, through spokesman Dmitry Peskov, declares the EU is 'trying to compensate for the erosion in NATO' by declaring Russia an enemy and creating a new security dividing line. Peskov reads Europe's autonomous defense project as proof NATO is disintegrating from within.

For Moscow, these three articles form a strategic triptych: America is running out of ammunition, NATO is fracturing, and Europe is building its own defense because it no longer trusts Washington. This is precisely the scenario the Kremlin has dreamed of since 2014.