NATO prepares for war with Russia – Biggest military exercise since Cold War begins

A few months after it was revealed that the NATO is officially preparing for one World Warthe top commander of the Alliance announced that next week will begin the largest military exercise since the Cold War period with the participation of about 90,000 troops.

This is a military exercise Steadfast Defender 2024which will last until May. “NATO will demonstrate its ability to protect the Euro-Atlantic area with a transatlantic movement of forces from North America,” US General Chris Cavoli stressed from Brussels after two-day meeting of the heads of national troops.

The participating forces will come from all NATO member countries, as well as the Swedenthe inclusion of which in the Alliance remains pending because of Turkey. The military exercises will reportedly focus on deterring Russian aggression.

It is noted that last Monday German media, citing classified documents from the German ministryreported that Berlin preparing for a third World Warwhich could be sparked by a possible Russian attack on NATO forces.

The documents are essentially a guide to how Moscow could escalate the conflict with Ukraine into an all-out war against NATO in just 18 months. According to NATO estimates, Vladimir Putin may use Belarus as a launching pad to invade, as he did in February 2022 during Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Indicative of the concern in the Western bloc, was the warning of the defense minister of Sweden, who argued that the country could soon face the prospect of war. He also urged citizens to join voluntary defense organizations in order to prepare for a possible Russian attack.

Last May, a secret military plan, thousands of pages long, was revealed, in which is described in detail for the first time since the Cold War how the NATO military would act in the event of an attack by a powerful military power and its allies, such as Russia or China.

The drafting of this plan marked a fundamental change. For decades, the NATO leadership had not felt the need to draw up large-scale war plans, as conflicts were limited to smaller and regional conflicts – such as in Afghanistan and Iraq – and, moreover, post-Soviet Russia was not assessed as an existential threat.

However, the facts have changed radically based on the new global correlations, Russia's war in Ukraine, the bloodiest in Europe since 1945, but also the risk of an “ignition” in other powder stores internationally, such as happened in the Middle East. Today NATO, which some three years ago was described even by France as a “brain-dead” alliance, now considers preparations for a conflict with a powerful adversary to be vital. And in this context he should have all business plans ready.