NATO Admiral R. Bauer: “The Russians are not only on the eastern flank”

R. Bauer noted that NATO understood the changing security situation back in 2014, when Russia occupied Crimea. From 2019 Allies, he said, began to return to the idea of ​​collective security: they changed their defense strategy, operational planning and the forces needed to carry out all these tasks.

“Now we all understand that time is not on our side when it comes to returning to collective security.” Because the enemy decides when and where he will attack you and how long the conflict will last. Ukraine, unfortunately, made sure of that.

Are we ready? This is our main task – to be prepared. If it happens today, then you will have to fight with what you have. It is always necessary to combine preparations for today and at the same time improve capabilities for the future”, explained the admiral.

When asked regarding preparations on NATO’s eastern flank, where the potential threats are greatest, he reminded that the Alliance since 2016 expanded its presence in the Baltic States, and since the start of the war in Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria.

“We now have eight battalion-sized groups that can be combined into a brigade if necessary. The parties concerned are constantly improving this mechanism. If more is needed, we will consider it. However, this is enough for now”, said the chairman of NATO’s military committee.

He added that modern warfare has other dimensions, such as cyberspace or space attacks, and that Russia has ways to influence the Arctic, the western Atlantic, Africa, the Mediterranean and the Black Sea.

“It would be foolish to focus only on the eastern flank, because the Russians are not only there. They are everywhere. That is why NATO constantly monitors their actions and reacts accordingly when necessary”, added R. Baueris.

He also noted that he is not overly concerned regarding the prospect of increased Russian threats following the “re-election” of Vladimir Putin, as the war once morest Ukraine has weakened Russia and Western sanctions will make it difficult to replenish and modernize its military.

“We see that Russia has the ability to produce a large amount of weapons, but their quality has been steadily deteriorating since the beginning of the war. They have some plans, but they are at war, so they need a lot of time. It won’t be easy for them,” the admiral assessed.