SUMMARY
- Despite the toll taken by the ongoing Ukraine conflict, the Russian military remains a potent threat, warns NATO official.
- NATO is set to affirm a considerable restructuring of its strategic plan at the upcoming Lithuanian summit, aiming to strengthen defenses against potential Russian aggression.
- NATO's new plan is to mobilize up to 300,000 troops to its eastern boundary within a month, demonstrating a significant strategic shift since the Cold War era.
In the face-off between NATO and Russia over the conflict in Ukraine, the formidable Russian military may be battered but they are far from defeated, a senior NATO military official warned on Monday. The statement came as a prelude to NATO’s most significant strategic overhaul since the Cold War, in response to any escalation in Russian aggression.
“While the Russians may not be towering giants, they are certainly not dwarves either,” NATO Military Committee Chair, Admiral Rob Bauer, cautioned during a press briefing, reinforcing the need to not downplay Russia's resilience and potential for recovery.
The upcoming summit in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, will see President Joe Biden and his NATO allies affirm a significant reconfiguration of the alliance’s strategic plans. Even as NATO has refrained from direct involvement in the Ukraine conflict, not supplying arms or ammunition, it is concurrently bolstering the defenses of its member nations bordering Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus.
With an array of about 40,000 troops extending from Estonia in the north to Romania on the Black Sea, daily patrols of 100 aircraft, and 27 warships patrolling the Baltic and Mediterranean seas, NATO is establishing a formidable presence. These figures are anticipated to increase further.
The alliance's new strategy intends to mobilize as many as 300,000 troops within a month to its eastern boundary. It envisions dividing its territory into three segments: the high north and Atlantic area, a region north of the Alps, and a southern European zone. NATO's tactical rethink is built upon the condition of the Russian army prior to President Vladimir Putin's instigation of the Ukraine conflict nearly a year and a half ago. Bauer acknowledged that while the war had drained Russia's ground forces, its naval and air forces remained largely unaffected.
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