On Monday Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone, head of the NATO Military Committee said there are plans to strike Russia in a “more aggressive way” in response to Vladimir Putin’s “hybrid warfare.”
Dragone told the Financial Times, “We are studying everything … On cyber, we are kind of reactive. Being more aggressive or being proactive instead of reactive is something that we are thinking about.”
He suggested that NATO could launch a “pre-emptive strike” which could be viewed as “defensive action” adding that this approach is “further away from our normal way of thinking and behavior.”
Major General of Aviation Vladimir Popov told Kremlin-back news outlet Moskovskij Komsomolets that NATO’s plans may end up triggering a “full-scale nuclear war.”
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Popov told the outlet, “If a military officer makes such statements, it means operational planning is already underway.
“Because NATO headquarters is engaged in planning operational-strategic missions, not launching, say, a single tactical missile.
“In this case, we could be talking about planning a massive or group strike on Russian territory, for example, using Storm Shadow missiles.
“But we must understand that there will be consequences for any state that uses these missiles. Poland, Romania, or even Germany could theoretically do so. But that would be World War 3.”
He then added it would be “stupid” should NATO attack Russia’s Kaliningrad region, however he does believe that the alliance “is ready” for a “pre-emptive strike” on their country.
Popov continued, “Everything is calculated. Our forces and assets can respond far more effectively than those of Germany, France, the Netherlands, and Poland combined. Therefore, the military understands perfectly well that they will find themselves at a disadvantage.
“At the very least, they will have a very difficult time achieving the goals set by their politicians. But in five years, NATO may begin to put more serious pressure on us.
“We must understand that months pass between the announcement and the actual deployment of troops and the formation of operational echelons for an offensive.
“Our intelligence will see them forming strike units and moving them to, say, the Polish border with Belarus or Kaliningrad. So far, there’s no fist that could cross the state border at any moment.
“No, ‘hit and run’ won’t work anymore. Until we give them an adequate response, until they start whining, we won’t sit down at the negotiating table.”
