US intelligence now believes Vladimir Putin could launch a limited attack on a NATO member within the next several years to test the alliance’s resolve, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing US officials familiar with a new intelligence assessment. US officials had previously believed the Kremlin would avoid provoking NATO while fighting its war against Ukraine.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. European intelligence agencies, however, have long warned that Russia could target the alliance either during the war or after rebuilding its military. According to the new US assessment, worsening military and economic pressures inside Russia have increased concerns that Putin could resort to riskier actions. US intelligence sees several possible scenarios, ranging from cyberattacks and sabotage to covert operations using unidentified armed groups or even a limited ground incursion into a NATO country on the alliance’s eastern flank. Officials said the highest-risk window stretches from this autumn through 2029. While US intelligence currently considers a limited ground invasion the least likely scenario, officials believe the risk will grow over time. If Russia attacks NATO while its war against Ukraine is still underway, the Kremlin’s primary objective would be to fracture the alliance rather than seize large amounts of territory, according to US officials. “The question mark is how the United States would respond in that case,” Heather Conley, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, told the Journal. “It has always been a goal [of Russia’s] to challenge the credibility of NATO and to separate the United States from its allies.”