British General: Russia could declare war on NATO
British General Richard Shirreff, who previously held the post of NATO's Deputy Supreme Allied Commander in Europe, has presented a report to the analytical center of the Atlantic Council entitled “Arming for Deterrence (the armament in order to contain)”. In the report, he expressed his opinion that Russian authorities are ready for the “lightning” capture of Eastern Europe, which would result in devastating conflict on a global scale. This was reported by British newspaper, Express.
Quoting Shirreff, the newspaper warned that NATO must respond to this threat as the consequences of this conflict will be “fatal” for the Alliance.
According to Shirreff, Russia has recently become even more militarily aggressive. “It is clear that Russia is capable of surprising the West, probably with devastating consequences for eastern Poland and fatal consequences for the Alliance,” Express quoted him as saying.
The newspaper also reported on a warning made by Shirreff. He is convinced that Moscow will “come up with any excuse” to justify a war with the West. Russia could, for example, invade Poland “to prevent a NATO strike” or “to protect access to Kaliningrad”.
“Even if Moscow does not currently have an intention to immediately challenge NATO directly, they may suddenly and unexpectedly change their minds,” Shirreff’s report says. According to Express, Shirreff recognizes that Russia has already prepared plans and has the capacity to implement them. The newspaper adds that Shirreff’s report is drawing a “terrifying” picture of how Russia can, “overnight”, declare war on NATO. It was also noted that Russian troops could quickly invade Poland and cut off the Baltic states from the Alliance.
Shirreff is sure that “NATO countries are not spending enough on defense to restore the range of capabilities necessary to deter a strengthened and aggressive Russia”. He is convinced that Russia could be discouraged from the “temptation” to turn Eastern Europe into a conflict zone by a significant build-up of troops in Poland.