Let's start with Vladimir Putin's recent one-two military-political pokes that Vlad bet would shatter NATO — but didn't.

That assessment addressed, we will assess Donald Trump's international spotlight United Nations mega-denunciation of Vlad's mass murder war and Trump's indictment of Vlad's oil buying financiers, specifically China and India.

Guts? Trump speaks truth, even to a U.N. audience of sophisticated liars.

So, Putin's explosive one-two starter: Two weeks ago (Sept. 9-10) two dozen Russian drones attacked Poland. The explosive drones caused minor damage but no human casualties. In our era of nuclear weapons, praise be to God.

But cruel-facts adults who value life and freedom cannot ignore: Vlad's Kremlin ordered and Vlad's obedient military forces executed a violation of Polish territory which is NATO territory. Putin's goal: Test NATO's technical abilities (surveillance and military tech) and test NATO's political responses (especially NATO Treaty's Article 5, the all for one and one for all go to war clause if a NATO member's territory is attacked).

In Eastern Europe, the parenthetical info is life and death. They rely on Article 5 to survive.

But wait, more recent Muscovite Threat Theater follows. Putin's second one-two poke occurred on Sept 19. The Kremlin's Sept. 19 Death Threat and Media Gambit: Three Russian MiG-31 fighters violated little Estonia's airspace. Estonia is little. As for violation, I mean a blatant, in your face violation, not a navigator accident where a Cessna crosses a curlicue border for nine seconds. The Russian MiG trio cruised Estonia for 12 photo op minutes, exactly the video Vlad wanted: 12 Minutes Over Estonia.

Was not 30 Seconds Over Tokyo. NATO Baltic Air Policing Mission Italian Air Force F-35 stealth fighters intercepted the Russians. The Italian Air Force is a stud. Any nation that produces superb Formula Drivers easily produces superb fighter pilots.

Later, Western media reported Swedish fighters also participated in the intercept.

Now. Brain opener. Imagine a report circa 2012 that Sweden cooperated ... with NATO in a multinational mission intercepting Russian bandits over Estonia? (Aside to ignorant language critics preempting ignorant emails: "Bandits" is pilot lingo for enemy aircraft.)

Central intellectual point: Putin's insane imperialist war-waging Kremlin turned neutral Finland and Sweden into NATO allies. Result: a strategic defeat for a Russia led by Vlad Putin.

Now. We return to Russia's recent acts of war: Estonia issued an international protest and called for an all-NATO consultation. Estonia noted this was the fourth time in 2025 Russian aircraft have violated Estonian airspace.

OK. I summarize two jam-packed weeks of military probes and political war threat from the Kremlin. And I sketch NATO responses.

But it's all necessary. For, thanks to President Donald Trump's U.N. messaging, threatening Poland and Estonia has backfired on Vlad.

Let me make this clear. On Ukraine Trump has the moral high ground, which galls his domestic Democrat critics. Why? Trump's human goal: Stop the killing fields (the tens of thousands of dead per month), then sort out a political settlement that stops the blood bath. In the deep background of Trump's proposal is the cruel but ultimately successful 1944 Russia-Finland settlement. Finland gave territory to Stalin in exchange for survival.

But Trump's stop the killing appeal to both sides was three months ago. In those fruitless months, another 30 or 40 or 70 or 100,000 have died.

According to media reports, in his U.N. speech Trump slammed India and China for funding Russia's war on Ukraine by buying Russian oil.

Jaw drop wow. Raw truth, before the U.N.?

MORE: Following his U.N. speech, Trump met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Trump told Zelenskyy — and media — Moscow's conduct of the war was aimless.

Mr. President, Putin's war is megalomaniacal. Putin wants to restore the Russian Empire. RUBK. Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan. That's the core of Putin's revived superpower. I wrote that in November 2004. Google it. StrategyPage.com.

To be fair, Mr. President, megalomaniacs tend to murder aimlessly. So we are in violent agreement.

I'll add this, though Google won't: Trump gets credit for making NATO a full partnership, not an American dependency.

Which is why NATO will thrive. And Putin's corrupt Russia will fall and surviving Russia ... will rely on NATO to save it.

To find out more about Austin Bay and read features by other Creators writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate webpage at www.creators.com.

Photo credit: Ben Mater at Unsplash