Media: Europe quietly prepares for World War III

As concerns grow about the possibility of a war with Russia in the coming years, NATO's European members have begun strengthening their defenses in preparation for the potential of Russian forces crossing into alliance territory.

"Russia is preparing for a war with the West," said Bruno Kahl, head of Germany's foreign intelligence service, in late November, Caliber.Az reports via foreign media.

However, Kahl cautioned that a large-scale assault on NATO territory is unlikely. Instead, Moscow might choose a limited invasion or escalate its hybrid warfare tactics to test the alliance's resolve. NATO is preparing for both eventualities: a full-scale conflict and more subtle methods aimed at destabilizing member countries.

"There are multiple options for Russia to test the cohesion of the alliance," including limited territorial grabs, said Lieutenant General Jürgen-Joachim von Sandrart, the former head of NATO's Multinational Corps Northeast in northwest Poland, speaking to Newsweek just before his departure in November. The urgency of the situation is now clear to senior military and political leaders.

Andrius Kubilius, the European Union's defense commissioner, remarked in September that defense ministers and NATO commanders "agree that [Russian President] Vladimir Putin could be ready for confrontation with NATO and the EU in six to eight years." 

In February, Estonia's foreign intelligence service warned that NATO "could face a Soviet-style mass army in the next decade" if Russia succeeds in reforming its military. While the Russian army would be "technologically inferior" to NATO forces in most areas, except electronic warfare and long-range strikes, the service noted, its "military potential would be significant." "If we take these assessments seriously, then that is the time for us to properly prepare, and it is a short one," Kubilius, a former Lithuanian prime minister, said. "This means we have to take quick decisions, and ambitious decisions."

The primary trigger for these developments is Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which led Sweden and Finland to abandon their longstanding policies of non-alignment and join NATO, thus extending Russia's border with the alliance. Across Europe, NATO is now striving to increase defense spending beyond the two percent of GDP that the alliance has requested—but not strictly enforced. Many countries have historically struggled to meet this target in the decades following the Cold War. However, the situation is shifting. 

European nations have committed to meeting or surpassing the goal, and officials and experts widely anticipate that the incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump will intensify pressure on Europe to further boost military spending.

By Naila Huseynova