NATO has an advantage over Russia in military capabilities, but is not yet ready for prolonged hostilities. This was stated by Vice Admiral Mike Utley of the Royal Navy of Great Britain, who heads the Alliance's Joint Maritime Command. According to him, member countries have already realized the problem and are preparing to invest in increasing resilience. This is reported by UNN with reference to Bloomberg.
Details
Mike Utley emphasized in an interview with Bloomberg that the modern battlefield is becoming increasingly complex and includes not only classical military actions, but also cyber threats and hybrid attacks. He admitted that despite NATO's advantage over Russia, the Alliance does not have sufficient endurance for a protracted war.
Do we have the resilience we would like to have? I think the comments over the last 10 months have shown that no, we don't. But countries have fully realized this and are ready to invest in these capabilities to increase our resilience.
European security officials also warn of increasing risks. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte stated that "Russia may be ready to use military force against NATO within five years." He emphasized that the alliance "must be ready for the scale of war that our grandparents or great-grandparents experienced."
NATO notes that even a possible ceasefire in Ukraine will not mean the end of threats. Western security officials believe that Russia will continue hostilities in Ukraine and hybrid attacks elsewhere. In addition, the Russian military continues to explore NATO borders, sending its ships into British waters and presenting its newest submarine capable of carrying Poseidon torpedo drones.
In response, NATO launched an operation earlier this year to enhance security in the Baltic region to protect underwater infrastructure. The Alliance also published a new maritime strategy, in which Russia and terrorism are identified as the main threats.
However, although almost all NATO countries, except Spain, agreed this year to increase defense spending by 2035, the allocation of funds is slow. Nevertheless, Utley said that NATO's investments will eventually meet the spectrum of challenges.
I'm a realist – money is hard, and there are many competing priorities for all our allies on how they spend their taxpayers' money. I'm not going to pretend that the defense department should have every penny to spend on every available opportunity. It's about prioritizing
Also, despite his reservations about the current readiness for a prolonged conflict, Utley said that he believes NATO members are making the necessary commitments.
"Do I think it's moving in the right direction? Absolutely. Yes, because it is," he said.
Recall
A high-ranking NATO diplomat stated that the Russian army is not capable of attacking EU countries. This was a response to Vladimir Putin's threats about Russia's readiness for war with Europe.