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NATO prepares military plans to defend against Russia

2023-07-03 20:47:37, Kosova & Bota CNA

BRUSSELS (AP) - Russia's armed forces are damaged but far from destroyed in the war in Ukraine, a senior NATO military officer said Monday as he presented the biggest review of the organization's military plans since the war. Cold, if Moscow dares to expand the conflict.

"They may not be intact, but they are certainly not in serious condition," NATO Military Commission Chairman Admiral Rob Bauer told reporters. "So we should never underestimate the Russians and their ability to regroup."

President Joe Biden and his NATO counterparts have decided to approve a major overhaul of the alliance's planning system at a high-level meeting in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius next week.

NATO, as an organization, does not provide arms or ammunition to Ukraine, seeking to avoid entering into a direct war with Russia, a country equipped with nuclear weapons. At the same time, it is massively strengthening the security of member countries near Russia, Ukraine and Belarus.

About 40,000 troops are on standby from Estonia in the north to Romania in the Black Sea. About 100 aircraft take to the skies in that territory every day and 27 warships are operating in the Baltic Sea and the Mediterranean. These numbers are expected to increase.

Under its new plans, the NATO alliance aims to have up to 300,000 troops ready to move to its eastern flank within 30 days.

Admiral Bauer said NATO's new planning is based on the strength of the Russian military before President Vladimir Putin launched war on Ukraine almost 17 months ago. He said that the war has depleted the Russian army, but not its naval or air forces.

Of Russia's ground forces, about "94% are engaged in the war in Ukraine," Admiral Bauer said.

"What we see in general is that the Russians are cautious about NATO. They are not looking for a conflict with NATO. I think that's a sign that they're very, very busy,” he said. "From the point of view of the ground forces, I don't think they have a lot of forces available to do anything to anybody else. But we are confident that the Russians will regroup," he said. "We will continue to view them as a serious threat, at sea and in the air, especially, in space they are still very, very, capable. And certainly in the nuclear field."

NATO's 31 member nations took part in a "force review conference" last week in an attempt to understand how many troops and equipment the alliance has available to respond to any Russian attack, both in the short term and in the near future. as well as in the long term.

Experts and some NATO diplomats have expressed doubts about the readiness of member countries to put a total of 300,000 troops on standby.

As for NATO's ability to execute plans should they be needed in the future, Admiral Bauer welcomed the expected commitment in Vilnius by President Biden and other leaders to increase defense spending, which should help providing commanders with the equipment they need.

In 2014, NATO countries agreed that by 2024, each country would spend 2 percent of its GDP on the military. In next week's meeting, it is expected that the leaders will set 2 percent as the minimum limit and not as the maximum budget that should be targeted./ VOA