Poland Estonia Latvia Lithuania are the countries that really need to be leaned on by ourselves, and reminded the value of our current membership of NATO, when those said countries start thinking about siding up with the usual suspects in giving us such a very hard time about leaving the EU.
Of course we are militarily no longer the power we were even 15 years ago, and this diminishes our leverage here.
But I hardly see Russia attacking those countries though, anyway. More likely try to destabilise the situation to suit its own aim- a stop to the expansion of the EU into its old satellites. To limit the influence of NATO upon its sphere.
I've continuously worked abroad since I left the RN, and have travelled widely. The attitude of EU/NATO members own citizens fascinates me.
I was heavily harangued by a Croat. The current middle eastern or MENA refugee crisis is entirely the UKs fault, he raged. And now because of this, these very people we are responsible for displacing , we leave the EU under Brexit he said.
We are going to have very few friends left in Europe soon, I fear.
Militarily, if we do ever quit NATO because of European intransience we will have to bite the metaphorical bullet and pull all assets back towards the mainland UK, (whatever that will actually be). Possibly no Scottish bases at all in any capacity. Who will even care about Scotland in the political blue camp? They wont need them and will be missed even less.
ICBM submarines based out of Plymouth (whose constituents will welcome the work and funding). The protector aircraft based out of Culdrose, St Mawgan yet again...
2 carriers out of Portsmouth. The Army will be hammered on savings of course.
A very different world and we are closer to it than we think.