Partly that. It’s also to help maintain a measured ladder of escalation. Russia crosses a line, the US responds, and then the next escalation is a separate decision. If Russia thinks it is crossing lines without a response, that would be bad and might lead to further escalation. If Russia thinks that the US is responding arbitrarily, that would also be bad and could lead to further escalation. Yeah, it sucks that the US always has to be the responsible one, but these days Russia’s shtick seems to be that they don’t care if the whole world burns if they don’t get their way.
Partly that. It’s also to help maintain a measured ladder of escalation. Russia crosses a line, the US responds, and then the next escalation is a separate decision. If Russia thinks it is crossing lines without a response, that would be bad and might lead to further escalation. If Russia thinks that the US is responding arbitrarily, that would also be bad and could lead to further escalation. Yeah, it sucks that the US always has to be the responsible one, but these days Russia’s shtick seems to be that they don’t care if the whole world burns if they don’t get their way.