NATO identifies potential targets inside Russia if aggression escalates
Photo: NATO will respond to aggression immediately (Getty Images)
Lieutenant General Holger Neumann, commander of the German Air Force, has identified specific targets within Russia that NATO is prepared to strike in response to aggression.
Where NATO will strike: Four targets
In the event of a Russian attack on any member of the Alliance, the following targets will be struck:
- Kaliningrad, Russia’s strategic exclave, surrounded by NATO countries
- Kola Peninsula, where Moscow has concentrated its nuclear weapons
- St. Petersburg, the home base of key naval forces
- Black Sea, where Russia’s Black Sea Fleet operates.
Ready to 'fight tonight'
Neumann states that the Luftwaffe is ready to act immediately.
"Fight tonight means if someone calls me now and says we have the following situation here, we have to be ready now – and we are ready," he says.
According to him, in response to aggression, Germany will deploy all its forces, both its own and those of its NATO allies.
"We will go in with everything we have in Germany, the air force, but also in NATO, to defend our country, our values, our population, and our alliance," the commander adds.
Neumann emphasizes that there are "no different zones of security" within the Alliance. An attack on Estonia would receive the same response as a strike on London.
"It must be clear, there are no zones of different security, that NATO is NATO, down to the last inch," he states.
This is particularly important for the Baltic states and the Far North, where there has recently been an escalation by Russia, including drone attacks and other provocations.
Lieutenant General Neumann reminds that in the event of an armed conflict, Russia would face the air forces of 32 NATO member states at once.
Earlier, NATO General Alexus Grynkewich told the Financial Times that Russia realizes the inevitability of defeat in the event of a confrontation with the Alliance.
According to him, this is precisely why the Kremlin has not dared to launch an attack against the Baltic states.
Meanwhile, from June 16 to 26, Lithuania, Poland, and France are conducting joint exercises near the Suwalki Corridor, a strategic isthmus between Belarus and Kaliningrad.
The maneuvers are focused on practicing the rapid defense of this key stretch.
