NATO fears Europe cannot withstand war with Russia - Guardian
Photo: one of the reasons for pessimism is the rise of right-wing forces in several European countries (Getty Images)
Military planners working with NATO fear that, in the event of a war with Russia, Europe would currently be unable to withstand a protracted war of attrition due to insufficient combat readiness, according to The Guardian.
As The Guardian writes, information about these fears emerged at a conference on the future of European military coordination held this week in Britain (referring to a closed-door roundtable, the European Defense Roundtable, organized by the Munich Security Conference).
The Guardian notes that this pessimism reflects fears that Russia could win the so-called hybrid war against Europe, thereby weakening the capabilities available to NATO military planners in the event of a military conflict.
Another cause of pessimism is the sharp rise in support for right-wing parties in major European military powers. This, in turn, threatens proposals to create a group of five European countries, the E5, including Britain, to fulfill a new coordination role, as the US prepares to reduce its commitments to ensuring conventional defense in Europe.
One recently elected member of the British Cabinet admitted that the West had "poorly" informed the public about the scale of the hybrid conflict with Russia.
Another British diplomat stated that successive British prime ministers had done nothing to explain the scale of the threat.
According to them, this has placed ministers in the unenviable position of having to convince unprepared voters to cut social spending to fund defense.
The second diplomat also noted that the erosion of the Cold War dividing line with Russia has allowed Moscow to freely exploit the anxieties of European society, both left and right.
"The remarks reveal a wider concern in senior European politicians that they may be losing the so-called hybrid war with Russia, and this may be reflected in rightwing populist surges next year in Poland, France and Italy," writes The Guardian.
What else is known
Yesterday, The Express wrote that, according to Western security sources, Russia is already testing the limits of permissible confrontation with NATO. Moreover, the Kremlin is preparing a wave of targeted assassinations and sabotage in Europe.
According to media reports, NATO allies gathered near Iceland to conduct exercises and practice hunting for Russian submarines. However, the key point is that, for the first time in the long history of these exercises, the US did not join them.
