French general: Russia’s military resilience "five minutes longer" than Europe’s

Russia could once again pose a serious military threat to Europe by 2030, warns French Armed Forces Chief General Thierry Burkhard, who steps down on September 1.

In an interview with The Economist, he said Moscow is rearming quickly, and its battlefield experience and endurance make it particularly dangerous. “In a conflict, the Russian people will always last five minutes longer than us,” he remarked.

Despite this, Burkhard sees hope in stronger European cooperation and continued—if reduced—American military presence in Europe. Recent trilateral meetings among the UK, France, and Germany point to a clearer European role within NATO. Still, most European states fall short of NATO’s defence targets, and US retrenchment could deepen the shortfall. He cautions that some may use this gap to justify inaction.

Europe, he says, cannot mimic the US military's high-tech, risk-averse doctrine. Instead, European forces must learn to “do more with less” by being nimbler and taking calculated risks. If American officers leave NATO posts, Europe should build a new command system with its own personnel.

Burkhard notes that modern warfare, especially in Ukraine, demands new thinking. With battlefields now highly visible due to drones and surveillance, two key lessons emerge: First, armies must balance expensive weapons like France’s SCALP cruise missiles with cheap munitions to wear down the enemy.

“You need Ferraris from time to time,” he said, “but we won’t win the war with Ferraris.” Second, success depends on integrating tech like drones across all domains—land, air, and sea—just as Germany did with tanks and planes in 1940.

He also stressed the growing importance of nuclear deterrence. Macron recently proposed discussions with allies on France’s nuclear protection, and on July 10, France and the UK agreed to coordinate their responses to extreme threats. While each nation’s arsenal will remain independent, they’ve begun creating a joint nuclear steering group. “France cannot fight alone against Russia,” Burkhard said. “If it is someday threatened… it is a matter of nuclear deterrence.”

By Tamilla Hasanova