NATO warns civilians in West to prepare for 'all-out war' with Russia
Rob Bauer, Chairman of the NATO Military Committee (Getty Images)
Civilians in Western countries should prepare for an "all-out war" with Russia, according to Rob Bauer, the Chairman of the NATO Military Committee.
He notes that although the Armed Forces are ready for war, citizens of Western countries should also be prepared for a conflict that will require significant changes in their lives.
"We have to realise it's not a given that we are in peace. And that's why we [NATO forces] are preparing for a conflict with Russia. But the discussion is much wider. It is also the industrial base and also the people that have to understand they play a role," Bauer says.
The NATO official also adds that Sweden did the right thing by calling on its population to prepare for war in early January.
"It starts there," he says. "The realisation that not everything is plannable and not everything is going to be hunky dory in the next 20 years."
The official's warning came on the eve of the start of NATO's largest exercise since the Cold War, during which the Alliance's forces are training to repel an invasion by Russian troops.
NATO prepares for possible escalations from Russia
Earlier, the German agency Bild wrote that the Bundeswehr is preparing for a hybrid Russian attack on NATO's eastern flank. A military conflict could allegedly occur as early as February this year.
Recently, the head of NATO's Military Committee, Admiral Rob Bauer, said that the Alliance needs to transform, and the West must prepare for an era in which anything can happen at any time, including the outbreak of war.
His remarks came against the backdrop of delays or restrictions on military aid to Ukraine from the United States and the European Union.
Bild also wrote that NATO is going to hold large-scale training in February with the participation of about 90,000 troops. The scenario of the exercise is a Russian attack on the territory of the Alliance.
The day before, Admiral Rob Bauer, Chairman of the North Atlantic Military Committee, after yesterday's meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council, which discussed, among other things, the Ukrainian Armed Forces' counteraction to Russia's large-scale military aggression, called on the international community not to be pessimistic.
German experts believe that an armed confrontation between Russia and NATO is likely. Such a scenario could unfold in five to eight years.
