Germany’s top military chief has issued a stark warning to NATO allies.
General Carsten Breuer, the Inspector General of the Bundeswehr, has said the NATO alliance faces the most serious threat he’s seen in four decades, and the window to prepare is rapidly closing.
According to the BBC, Breuer warned that Russia is stockpiling massive quantities of weaponry, building around 1,500 battle tanks and producing four million rounds of 152mm artillery ammunition annually. But not all of this firepower is heading to Ukraine.
“Not every single tank is going to [the war in] Ukraine,” he said, “but it’s also going in stocks and into new military structures always facing the West.” He continued, “There’s an intent and there’s a buildup of the stocks.
German analysts believe Russia could be planning a wider conflict with NATO by 2029, but Breuer cautioned that the danger could come much sooner.
“So we have to be ready by 2029,” he said, per The Sun. “If you ask me now, is this a guarantee that it’s not earlier than 2029? I would say no, it’s not. So we must be able to fight tonight.”
The general pointed to Russia’s growing arsenal as evidence that President Vladimir Putin is preparing for more than just a prolonged war in Ukraine.
“[He wants to] weaken and destroy NATO as an alliance and discredit our Western form of society,” Breuer warned.
The warning comes just days after Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) launched a massive drone strike deep inside Russian territory.
Using drones smuggled in and hidden in wooden cabins on trucks, the operation took out more than 40 Russian military aircraft and reportedly caused £5 billion ($7bn) in damage, according to another BBC report.
SBU sources said they destroyed 34 percent of Russia’s strategic cruise missile carriers, located dangerously close to the FSB’s regional office.
“The most interesting thing - and we can already say this publicly - is that the 'office' of our operation on Russian territory was located right next to the FSB of Russia in one of their regions,” President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a national address.
Following that strike, NATO’s vulnerability, particularly in Eastern Europe, has come into sharp focus. Breuer stressed that the Baltic nations of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia are especially exposed.
“The Baltic States are really exposed to the Russians, right?” he said. “And once you are there, you really feel this... in the talks we are having over there.”
Estonian officials have compared the tension to standing near a wildfire, saying that they feel "the heat, see the flames, and smell the smoke.” In contrast, Breuer said Germany and other European nations "probably see a little bit of smoke over the horizon and not more".
The German general is urging NATO nations to ramp up defense efforts immediately: “What we have to do now is really to lean in and to tell everybody: 'Hey, ramp up... get more into it because we need it. We need it to be able to defend ourselves and therefore also to build up deterrence.'”
In a direct response to the rising threat, the UK government announced plans to construct up to 12 new nuclear-powered submarines equipped with Tomahawk missiles under the AUKUS pact with the US and Australia.
These submarines, while conventionally armed, will function as intelligence platforms, capable of deploying special forces and drones off hostile coastlines.
Defence Secretary John Healey said the deterrent is “what Putin fears most,” and the new fleet represents the UK’s largest nuclear deterrence development since the Cold War.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer echoed the urgency: “From the supply lines to the front lines, this government is four-square behind the men and women upholding our freedom and security.”
Despite internal rifts within NATO, especially as countries like Hungary and Slovakia adopt more pro-Russia stances, Breuer remains confident in the alliance.
“I’ve never seen such a unity like it is now,” he said. “All of them understand the threat that is at the moment approaching NATO, all understand that we have to develop a direction of deterrence, into the direction of collective defence. This is clear to everyone. The urgency is seen."