NATO is mobilizing its resources and strategic plans in anticipation of a potential all-out war, as articulated by Lieutenant-General Alexander Sollfrank, head of NATO’s logistics command.
This urgent preparation underscores a grim reality: the specter of World War III is looming.
In these two and a half years of war in Ukraine, we see how US and NATO support for Kiev has breached one by one all the Russian so-called ‘red lines’, up until we come to the frightening position that the West is about to greenlight attacks with its long-range missiles deep inside Russian territory, a move that can unleash unimaginable consequences.
That has led Russian President Vladimir Putin to once again warn that the U.S. and NATO would be ‘at war’ with Russia if the West allows Ukraine use long-range missiles – and, in fact, as we will see – be the ones to fire them.
According to reports from the Daily Mail, General Sollfrank has confirmed that NATO is developing mass evacuation and rescue strategies to address the anticipated challenges of a major conflict with Russia.
In a concerted effort to bolster its defenses, NATO has recently launched its largest military exercises since the Cold War, involving 90,000 troops from over 30 allied nations.
These exercises, dubbed Steadfast Defender 2024, are designed to test the alliance’s collective capabilities across multiple domains—land, air, sea, and cyber. The mobilization of American troops to European frontlines is also on the table, with plans being formulated to ensure rapid deployment in the event of an escalation.
Moreover, European nations are scrambling to enhance their military capabilities. Germany has pledged over €100 billion to modernize its armed forces, while Poland has committed nearly 5% of its GDP to defense spending.
Poland is taking bold steps to prepare its civilian population for a potential Russian invasion. Polish authorities are drawing up plans for mass civilian evacuations as part of a comprehensive civil defense initiative.
Poland’s Interior Minister Tomasz Siemoniak announced that €1.5 billion would be allocated toward constructing shelters, establishing emergency communication systems, and creating a secure government infrastructure.
Daily Mail reported:
Sollfrank runs NATO’s Joint Support and Enabling Command (JSEC), tasked with coordinating the swift movement of troops and tanks across Europe as well as logistical preparations such as the storage of munitions on NATO’s eastern flank.
But since Vladimir Putin sent his troops streaming across the border with Ukraine in February 2022, relations between Russia and the West have plunged to lows not seen since the Cuban Missile Crisis.
That forced Sollfrank and JSEC to confront the possibility of a major land war in Europe, and the unit began planning its approach to medical evacuations accordingly.
Should a conflict with Russia arise, wounded troops will need to be transported over a larger distance than in other wars of recent years, Sollfrank said.
Russian air defences and jets mean medical evacuation flights would be placed under a much greater threat unlike anything they had faced before from insurgents in Afghanistan or Iraq.
Sollfrank reasoned that a massive network of rail and road evacuation vehicles would need to be deployed and said NATO forces would have to be supported by specially designed trains that can transport more casualties at the same time than aircraft.
NATO is set to urge all 32 member nations to implement comprehensive civil defense strategies in preparation for potential large-scale attacks, as the alliance braces for a possible future threat from Russia, Foreign Policy reported last July.
According to officials familiar with the discussions, NATO leaders will formally call for this initiative during the Washington summit next year.
“We’re going to push the idea in Washington that all allies should commit to having some kind of national planning process that brings together both the military planning and civilian planning for Article 5,” one NATO official said.
Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty (NATO) states that if a NATO member is attacked, all other NATO members are considered to be attacked as well. This means that all NATO members are obligated to assist the attacked member, and may use armed force if necessary.