Reuters reports that “Russia’s increasing military activities around the world have unsettled top US military officials, who say they are reshaping their budget plans to better address what they now consider to be the most pressing threat to US security.”

“‘Russia is the No. 1 threat to the United States. We have a number of threats that we’re dealing with, but Russia could be, because of the nuclear aspect, an existential threat to the United States,’ Deborah James, the secretary of the Air Force, told Reuters in an interview at the annual Reagan National Defense Forum.”

“James, the chief of naval operations, Adm. John Richardson, and the Pentagon’s chief arms buyer, Frank Kendall, all voiced growing concern in interviews late on Saturday about Russia’s increasingly aggressive behavior.”