NATO fears war with Russia could last for decades
(Baonghean.vn) - NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has called on members of the bloc to increase defense production to prevent a “confrontation” with Russia that “could last for decades.” Mr. Stoltenberg has repeatedly warned that Western economies are not well prepared for such a conflict.
As Ukraine’s counteroffensive falters and Russian forces prepare to take the key Donbass stronghold of Avdeevka, media reports have for weeks highlighted the worsening shortages of manpower and ammunition facing Kiev. Amid warnings of “a mass collapse along the front,” Stoltenberg told Germany’s Die Welt newspaper that NATO members must increase arms production to meet Ukraine’s needs. “We need to restore and expand our industrial base more quickly so we can increase supplies to Ukraine and replenish our own reserves. That means moving from slow production in peacetime to fast production, which is essential in conflicts,” the NATO chief said.
NATO recently signed contracts worth $1.2 billion for about 220,000 155mm artillery shells, bringing the total amount spent on ammunition deals in the past six months to more than $10 billion. However, the latest contracts will not be fulfilled until the end of 2025, and previous ammunition commitments to Ukraine – like the millions of artillery shells promised by the EU – remain unfulfilled. Meanwhile, US stockpiles have been depleted by Washington’s efforts to arm both Ukraine and Israel, and a $61 billion military aid package promised by the White House remains stalled in Congress.
“NATO is not seeking war with Russia. But we must prepare for a confrontation that could last for decades,” Stoltenberg told Die Welt. “If (Russian President Vladimir) Putin wins in Ukraine, there is no guarantee that Russian aggression will not spread to other countries.”
Mr. Stoltenberg is one of several Western political and military leaders predicting an imminent Russian attack on NATO. Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen, Swedish General Micael Byden, Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas, and British Defense Secretary Grant Shapps have all said in recent weeks that such a conflict could break out in just three years. While attacking NATO territory would plunge Russia into war with the entire alliance, Russian officials have repeatedly stressed that Moscow has no geopolitical, economic, or military interests in Poland or the Baltic states. “It is absolutely impossible,” Mr. Putin told American journalist Tucker Carlson in an interview earlier this week. “You don’t need to be an analyst to get involved in some kind of global war. And a global war would bring all of humanity to the brink of destruction. That’s obvious.”
President Putin argued that Western leaders were “trying to scare their own people with an imaginary threat from Russia.” He said these predictions were “just horror stories for people on the street to squeeze more money from American and European taxpayers” to keep weapons and ammunition flowing into Ukraine./.