Russian Defence Minister Andrey Belousov said on Monday, the 16th of December, that Moscow should be prepared to fight NATO’s military alliance in Europe in the next decade, citing the NATO summit in July and the military doctrines of NATO members as proof that Moscow should prepare for direct conflict with NATO, while Putin accused the West of pushing Russia to “red lines”, report Politico and Reuters.
“Russia’s defence ministry must be prepared for any development, including a possible military conflict with NATO in Europe in the next decade,” Belousov told Putin at his ministry.
The Russian comments came as US President-elect Donald Trump on Monday called for a swift end to hostilities, saying: ‘We are trying to get this war stopped, this terrible, terrible war going on in Ukraine, in Russia, in Ukraine. We are going to make a little progress, it is a tough one, it is nasty, it’s nasty.”
Trump added that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy “should be ready to make a deal”.
But Moscow shows no sign of backing down from the fight it launched more than two years ago, setting as its 2025 goal the seizure of all of Ukraine’s Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions.
Belousov claimed that Ukrainian troops are exhausted and the Russian army is advancing rapidly on all fronts.
He added that Russia has managed to recruit more than 427 000 soldiers this year – an average of 1 200 soldiers per day.
Belousov also warned that Russia must prepare for a fight with NATO because of the threat posed by the alliance.
“This is reflected in the decisions taken at the North Atlantic Summit in July this year. This is also reflected in the doctrinal documents of the US and other NATO countries,” the minister added.
He also cited US plans to modernise its nuclear forces, the opening of a US missile defence base in Poland, new NATO combat readiness plans and plans announced at the NATO summit to deploy US intermediate-range missiles in Germany in 2026.
He outlined a series of changes and reforms that he believes are necessary “given the nature of future military conflicts”.
At the same time, Putin accused the US of “scaring its population with mythical Russian threats” by sending “instructors” to help Ukraine; there is no evidence that Ukraine’s allies have sent instructors to the country.
“The tactic is very simple: they push us to a “red line” from which we cannot retreat, we start reacting, and then they immediately scare their population”, Putin said.
He blamed NATO for the tensions with the West.
“NATO countries are increasing military spending and presence on Russia’s borders. The number of American troops in Europe has already exceeded 100 000,” Putin said.