Germany warns of possible Russian attack within four years
Photo: Chief of the German Armed Forces General Staff, General Carsten Breuer (Getty Images)
NATO member countries must prepare for a possible Russian attack within the next four years, as stated by the Chief of the German Armed Forces General Staff, General Carsten Breuer, according to the BBC.
According to him, Russia produces about 1,500 main battle tanks annually and is significantly increasing its armed forces.
"Not every single tank is going to [the war in] Ukraine, but it's also going in stocks and into new military structures always facing the West," he said.
He also reported that in 2024, Russia manufactured four million 152-mm artillery shells, and not all are intended for the front in Ukraine. "There's an intent and there's a build-up of the stocks" for a possible future attack on NATO's Baltic state members, he said.
"This is what the analysts are assessing - in 2029. So we have to be ready by 2029... If you ask me now, is this a guarantee that's not earlier than 2029? I would say no, it's not. So we must be able to fight tonight," he said.
Most vulnerable zone for Russian aggression
Breuer named the Suwałki Gap, the area on the border of Poland, Lithuania, Russia, and Belarus, as one of the most vulnerable zones in the case of aggression.
"The Baltic States are really exposed to the Russians, right? And once you are there, you really feel this... in the talks we are having over there," he said.
According to him, Estonians compare their situation to someone "feels the heat, sees the flames and smells the smoke", while in Germany, "you probably see a little bit of smoke over the horizon and not more".
The general also said Russia views the war in Ukraine as a "continuum" of a broader conflict with NATO and "trying to find ways into our defence lines and it's testing it". Examples of such actions include attacks on underwater cables in the Baltic Sea, cyberattacks on public transport, and the appearance of drones over critical infrastructure in Germany.
Breuer called on NATO allies to urgently increase their defense capabilities.
"What we have to do now is really to lean in and to tell everybody, hey, ramp up... get more into it because we need it. We need it to be able to defend ourselves and therefore also to build up deterrence," the general said.
Putin prepares for war with NATO
A Bundeswehr report stated that Russia may be preparing for a potential large-scale war with NATO. It is assumed that Vladimir Putin plans to achieve his strategic goals by force. Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda warned that a Russian attack could happen in the coming years, and Lithuania has about four to five years to prepare.
In early May, Russia intensified surveillance of NATO’s military activity in the Baltic Sea and is resorting to demonstrative actions and provocations.
