General, by November, you were liable for the north-east flank of NATO, the border between NATO and Russia, 2200 km long. How are the armed forces deployed there?
History and geography matter. For more than 1,000 years, the way from Central Asia to Central Europe and vice versa ran through Moscow, Petersburg, Minsk, Warsaw and Berlin, both in times of peace and war. The armed forces stationed there are fundamentally divided into 2 groups: armies of 3 Baltic states and Poland and support forces, which are stationed there in full from 20 NATO countries.
Are these military units actually operational?
Many experts believe that Russia can challenge NATO by 2029. How large is the threat of war?
I think the hazard of war is high, even if I think the attack is presently unlikely.
Why?
Because Russia would should be able to release its forces to a limited spatially and temporally deployment against NATO territory, for example, in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania or in the celebrated Suwałki Region — a land corridor separating Kaliningrad from Belarus.
“Russia knows its window of chance will close”
What precisely is Russia doing today?
It is rebuilt after being active in the war in Ukraine, building forces in parallel and already producing more than it needs for war with Ukrainians. With each a transaction that takes place at the expense of Ukraine under the conditions of Russia, the hazard of war in our region on the northeastern flank is expanding significantly.
This besides means that NATO associate States in Europe will not necessarily have time to prepare for this by 2029, will they?
What does that mean?
Russia uses time until 2029 to test the alliance — including by military means. Time to 2029 is simply a period we gotta worry about.
Would NATO be able to counter the Russian attack today?
As commander of the North-East flank of NATO, I would say that we are ready to act against the current, persistent threat on the Russian side. But the minute the situation changes in Ukraine, and Russia will be able to release the operational forces to usage them elsewhere, it will change significantly.
"We request a return that does not relate only to the financial aspect"
Bundestag paved the way for a peculiar military investment fund. Is that enough?
The acquisition of fresh systems that will not affect until the next decade does not make us ready for war and defence.
Do you sense a change in the North Atlantic Alliance since Olaf Scholz's speech on "return point"?
I can't hear anymore. the word ‘return point’ .
Dimitar Dilkoff / AFP / AFPGerman Chancellor Olaf Scholz
Does this mean that individual changes are besides needed?
I'm inactive in uniform, and I'm not going to usage this chance to make circumstantial comments. All I'm gonna say is that something fresh can only be created by individual new.
I always compare this to mechanical engineering: if combustion engineers are trying to build an electrical motor, it most likely won't work. It is akin with an effort to change rapidly with the old team. I very much hope that this will apply to staff.
