- NATO generals warned there may be just three years left of peace with Russia
- They said the body needs to start cutting red tape around weapons use
PUBLISHED: 01:50 GMT, 29 January 2024 | UPDATED: 01:56 GMT, 29 January 2024
Top NATO generals have warned that Vladimir Putin may strike targets across Europe in an all-out war against the West.
Leaders told the Times that the bloc may have as little as three years to prepare for a potential Russian offensive on European land, which would see strikes against civilian and military infrastructure deep behind front lines in order to hamper war efforts.
They said Germany would likely be singled out as the central ‘turntable’ for NATO’s continental supply lines, and that targets could range from munitions factories and command centres, to power plants, railways and bridges.
Russia has already used similar tactics during its invasion of Ukraine, launching missiles far into Ukrainian territory, while Ukraine itself has retaliated by taking out ammo dumps, fuel depots and command sites.
Lieutenant General Alexander Sollfrank, commander of Nato’s military logistics centre in southwest Germany, said: ‘If we compare war and operations ten years ago or five years ago, then we realise that we have to accept that also the rear areas will be severely contested.
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‘We have to assume that an aggressor will use the whole spectrum of kinetic and non-kinetic force in order to destroy lines of communication, also in the rear area.
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‘That ranges from acts of sabotage through electronic warfare and cyber to kinetic possibilities through missiles, drones and so on.’
The NATO general urged world leaders to cut ‘red tape’ that hinders countries’ ability to use weapons and technology from another nation.
Sollfrank said that the rules of who can use what equipment, known as ‘interchangeability,’ massively slowed down response times.
He gave an example of paratroopers being legally forbidden from using parachutes made for another nation’s army, even if they are functionally identical.
‘Although it might not be allowed right now, technically there’s no problem in many cases. Where’s the problem, for example, with a paratrooper from a European nation A using a parachute from a neighbouring nation B after having been trained on this system, or attaching equipment from one nation to the helicopter of another nation? If there is no technical or security issue, why not’, he asked.
He said reducing the bureaucracy seemingly inherent to multi-national organisations would be key to ensuring that NATO is agile enough to fight Russia.
‘I think we can … get this started and reduce or adapt the red tape or wherever it might be possible and necessary,’ Sollfrank said, adding: ‘Everyone can start. Just do it. And don’t wait. Because in the end we have no time to waste.’
Lieutenant General Jan-Willem Maas, chief of the Dutch armed forces’ Defence Support Command, agreed that preparations for a bloc-wide conflict needed to go further.
‘We are not where we should be. That’s clear,’ he said. ‘But the question is: what are we going to do about it?
‘If you look at what Putin has done until now, I think that we have a way better starting position for the next operations. If you look at how Europe was united after he invaded Ukraine, I’m not that pessimistic.
‘But at the same time, if you look at the military deterrent, we have to do our utmost to make it work tomorrow. And the day after.’