A former NATO official and German politician has warned that Vladimir Putin has moved more than 360,000 troops on the border of Europe.
German politician Roderich Kiesewetter has issued a warning that 2026 is looking highly likely to be the most “critical” time in history.
The number of Russian troops is four times the size of the British army and these numbers are building as Putin’s forces are growing along Europe’s border and troops from Belarus are to deploy, this mirrors the troops build up seen in 2022 prior to the outbreak of full-scale war in Ukraine.
So far this year more than 400,000 new recruits have joined the Russian Armed Forces according to the Kremlin, officials are raising concerns as this is “unprecedentedly intense” as they are conducting winter military exercises.
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Kiesewetter told German broadcaster n-tv that Russia has two military battalions in Belarus with numbers between 350,000 and 360,000.
Kiesewetter warned that “this is worrying, especially in the Baltic states,” and “hundreds of thousands of soldiers who are never deployed in Ukraine” who are undergoing strict training.
He said that government’s across Europe, including the UK must prepare all their citizens for conflict as the bloc is now in a “critical” moment in history as “survival” depends “not just through our ability to defend ourselves, and also by not frightening our population, but rather saying: ‘Attention, this could happen, let’s be careful.
Chief of the Defence Staff Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Knighton said on Monday evening that more British families will learn to “know what sacrifice for our nation means” as the UK is preparing to war with Russia.
Sir Richard said that “sons and daughters” have to be ready to defend the UK, stating that a direct attack on Britain is low, but “that does not mean the chances are zero.”
Speaking at a Royal United Services Institute event in Westminster Chief of the Defence Staff warned, “Sons and daughters. Colleagues. Veterans will all have a role to play. To build. To serve. And if necessary, to fight. And more families will know what sacrifice for our nation means.”
This comes as the NATO General Secretary Mark Rutte has issued a very worrying statement warning that World War III is around the corner saying that “we are Russia’s next target.”
The former Dutch Prime Minister that Europe may be on the brink of war and the UK and the bloc must now prepare for war “on the scale of our grandparents and great-grandparents,” adding that this is not scaremongering, this is genuine threat.
Rutte told a security conference event in Berlin, “We are Russia’s next target. I fear that too many are quietly complacent.
“Too many don’t feel the urgency. And too many believe that time is on our side. It is not. The time for action is now.
“Conflict is at our door. Russia has brought war back to Europe. And we must be prepared.”
