German defense chief, General Carsten Breuer, said that Russia is posing a “very serious threat” to Nato nations and they should prepare for an attack in the next four years
General Carsten Breuer said that Russia is producing hundreds of tanks a year and munitions
Germany’s chief of Defense has warned North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) members of a potential clash with Russia in the “next four years.”
General Carsten Breuer told the BBC that Russia was producing hundreds of tanks a year, many of which could be used for an attack on Nato Baltic state members by 2029, or potentially even earlier.
Breuer also insisted that the NATO remains unified over the war in Ukraine, despite differences of opinion expressed recently by both Hungary and Slovakia.
Breuer was speaking from the sidelines of the Shangri-la Dialogue – a defense summit in Singapore organized by the think tank International Institute of Strategic Studies.
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His remarks come just weeks before a Nato summit where the nations are expected to discuss defense budgets, among other topics.
Gen. Breuer said that Nato was facing “a very serious threat” from Russia, one that he has never seen before in his 40 years in service.
Russia, he said, is currently building up its forces to an “enormous extent”, producing approximately 1,500 main battle tanks every year.
“Not every single tank is going to [the war in] Ukraine, but it’s also going in stocks and into new military structures always facing the West,” he said.
Russia also produced a huge amount of artillery munition in 2024, not all of which was going to Ukraine.
“There’s an intent and there’s a build up of the stocks” for a possible future attack on Nato’s Baltic state members, he said.
“This is what the analysts are assessing – in 2029. So we have to be ready by 2029… If you ask me now, is this a guarantee that’s not earlier than 2029? I would say no, it’s not. So we must be able to fight tonight.”
An attack on a Nato state has long been a fear, as it could trigger a war between Russia and the US. Under Article 5 of the Nato agreement, any attack on a member state would mean other members must come to its defence.
According to Breuer, the area that is most vulnerable at the moment is the so-called Suwalki Gap, which borders Lithuania, Poland, Russia and Belarus.
“The Baltic States are really exposed to the Russians, right? And once you are there, you really feel this… in the talks we are having over there,” he said.
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