The Wall Street Journal, in an exclusive report and amid concerns from U.S. officials about the reduction of stockpiles of certain critical munitions of this country, wrote that new U.S. intelligence assessments show that Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, may challenge the resolve of this alliance by taking a limited action against one of the NATO member countries within the next few years.

As the newspaper wrote, transferring weapons to Ukraine and the consumption of munitions in the Iran war have reduced some stocks of certain missiles and U.S. air-defense systems.

Patriot and Stinger missiles, as well as SM-3 interceptors and the THAAD system, are among the weapons that officials have expressed concern about regarding their stockpile levels.

The scenarios examined include a cyberattack and the deployment of armed forces without insignia, to a limited ground invasion in the eastern flank of NATO.

Based on this report, the United States previously assessed that Putin would refrain from directly provoking one of its NATO members as long as the war in Ukraine continued, but this assessment changed earlier this year.

U.S. officials have said that the increased pressure on Russia in the war in Ukraine and the domestic pressures on Putin to achieve victory, from