The increasingly belligerent Russian President Vladimir Putin could attack the NATO military alliance in less than a decade, warned German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, reports Politiko.
"We hear threats from the Kremlin almost every day, so we have to take into account that Vladimir Putin could one day even attack a NATO country," Pistorius told the German newspaper Tagespiegel in an interview published today.
Although a Russian attack is not likely "so far", the minister added: "Our experts expect a period of five to eight years in which this could be possible".
Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kalas said in an interview with the British newspaper The Times that was published four days ago, that Europe has between three and five years to prepare for the Kremlin's return as a serious military threat on NATO's eastern flank.
Politiko writes that after Russia's all-out invasion of Ukraine, Russia has stepped up its aggressive rhetoric against some of its neighbors — including the Baltic states and Poland, which are all NATO members, as well as Moldova — prompting top European defense officials to warn of the risk from the great conflict.
On Wednesday, the chairman of the NATO chiefs' military committee, Admiral Rob Bauer, said the military alliance was facing "the most dangerous world in decades" and called for a "combat transformation of NATO".
DON'T MISS IT
Earlier this month, Sweden's Commander-in-Chief General Mikael Biden similarly urged Swedes to "mentally prepare" for war.
On the same day, Swedish Civil Defense Minister Karl-Oskar Bolin also warned that "war may come to Sweden".
In an interview with Der Tagespiegel, Pistorius said Sweden's warnings were "understandable from a Scandinavian perspective," adding that Sweden faced an "even more serious situation" given its proximity to Russia.
Sweden is also not yet a member of the NATO alliance, awaiting the approval of Turkey and Hungary to join.
"But we also have to learn to live with danger again and prepare ourselves — militarily, socially and in terms of civil defense," Pistorius warned.
Poland, which is spending more than four percent of its gross domestic product (GDP) on defense this year, is also worried about Russia's unpredictability after an unexpected attack on Ukraine in 2022, according to Politiko.
"Russia is defying logic. What happened in 2022 seemed impossible. We must be prepared for any scenario," Defense Minister Vładisłav Kosijak-Kamiš said in a televised interview earlier this week.
Late last year, Germany revamped its military and strategic doctrine for the first time since 2011, with the aim of turning the Bundeswehr into a war-capable army.
"War has returned to Europe. Germany and its allies must once again face a military threat. The international order is under attack in Europe and around the world. We are living at a turning point," reads the first paragraph of the new doctrine.
Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis, an outspoken critic of Putin who has been one of the most vocal supporters of Ukraine's membership in the European Union (EU), called on Europe on Thursday to speed up preparations for more Russian aggression.
"There is a chance that Russia may not be contained in Ukraine," Landsbergis told France's AFP at the World Economic Forum in Davos.
"There is no scenario in this that if Ukraine doesn't win, it can end well for Europe," he warned.
Romania, also a member of NATO, will invest about 21 billion dollars in the defense system in 2024, which is even 45 percent more than that country spent on the army in the previous year.
As reported by the Balkan Security Network portal six days ago, official Bucharest has been investing significant funds in the renewal of armaments and capital infrastructure works of important military facilities and bases for some time and is among the first six NATO members in terms of the share of allocations for equipment in the military budget.
DON'T MISS IT
Bonus video:
