NATO Army Chief Sounds Alarm: 'The Threat Is Real'

Newsweek

2 days ago

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The "threat is real" to NATO, the chief of the British Army has said, warning of "serious challenges" to the alliance as worries swirl that Russia could launch an attack on NATO in the next few years.
"We really have got some serious challenges to deal with collectively," General Sir Roly Walker, the head of the British Army, said during an address at the U.K.-based think tank, the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) on Wednesday.
"The biggest challenge we face, of many, is simply a lack of time," Walker said, adding a "sense of urgency" is needed to "respond to the threats we face."
NATO officials have been increasingly ringing alarm bells over how much of a threat Russia will pose to the alliance in the next few years, particularly after inking a possible ceasefire deal in Ukraine that would free up hundreds of thousands of soldiers bogged down along the frontlines.
Assessments vary, but one judgment from Denmark's Defense Intelligence Service, published in February, said it believed Russia would be able to wage a "large-scale war" against NATO in the next five years if the U.S. declines to be involved.
Soldiers in the Russian Army on Red Square in Moscow on May 9, 2025.
Soldiers in the Russian Army on Red Square in Moscow on May 9, 2025.
The Kremlin Moscow/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images
Oleh Ivashchenko, the head of Ukraine's foreign intelligence service, said earlier this week Russia would be able to mount some form of attack on Europe two to four years after the end of the Ukraine war—but could be ready to do so much quicker if sanctions are lifted.
The more than three years of full-scale war in Ukraine has wreaked havoc on Moscow's land forces, but other swathes of its military, like its air force and much of the navy stationed away from Ukraine, have been largely unscathed.
Recent satellite imagery has indicated Russia is building out its bases close to the Finnish border. The construction appears to be part of a longer-looking effort to expand Russian military facilities in spitting distance of NATO, The New York Times reported earlier this month. Military personnel in Finland say they are well aware of Russia's activity close to the border.
Officials across the alliance have warned Russia is adept at hybrid warfare, a term that broadly refers to tactics designed to undermine or destabilize opponents but falling short of open conflict. In recent months, several undersea cables in the NATO-dominated Baltic Sea have been cut or damaged in one of the most high-profile sets of hybrid incidents.
Some observers feel Russia is more likely to up its more covert attacks or use troops formerly fighting in Ukraine to bite off a small chunk of NATO, taste-testing how the alliance might respond.
Spurred on by vociferous criticism from President Donald Trump's administration, NATO members across Europe have pledged to up defense spending, which fell at the end of the Cold War. Trump, ahead of his re-election, suggested he would encourage Russia to attack NATO members he deemed to be falling short of their contributions to the alliance.
Trump officials have proposed that European members of NATO dedicate 5 percent of their GDP to defense, far above the previous alliance-wide target of 2 percent that is still not met by a handful of members. The U.S., while the most important player in NATO, does not itself spend 5 percent of its GDP on defense.
European officials concede the U.S. has long requested the continent invest more in its own armed forces and widely see dramatic spikes in defense spending as necessary and overdue.
The U.S., which has provided long-running security for much of Europe, has indicated will make plans to reduce America's military footprint in Europe in the coming months.
"We got the memo," Walker added. "It took a couple of attempts, but we got it."