NATO may face an attack by Russia before the end of decade, this is according to German intelligence officials. The former warned was made by Bruno Kahl, President of Germany’s Federal Intelligence Service, while wrapped up in a session of the Bundestag’s Control Committee in Berlin. Kahl said that ‘in any case, as a result, we ended up with a direct confrontation with Russia,’ and Putin has considered NATO as an enemy since 2007.
These factors put the probability of a direct military conflict with NATO within reach, Kahl said. The same fears were expressed by Thomas Haldenwang, the head of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution as well as by Martina Rosenberg, the head of the Military Counterintelligence Service (MAD) who also attended the meeting. Haldenwang pointed to the rise of Russian intelligence and sabotage ops, saying that they are now at a critical stage this year.
The officials described the situation as becoming increasingly dangerous, adding that NATO and Germany need to be prepared. They think Russian military and intelligence initiatives pose a threat to the security of Europe and are designed to do so.
In response to these warnings Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said, ‘It is absolutely illogical to talk about a military threat to NATO from Russia,’ and accused NATO of propagandizing. Still, Russia has been in a conflict with Ukraine since 2022 and launched an invasion invoking Kyiv’s desire to join NATO and become subordinate to the West. However, Russia has not substantiated these claims with any proof, across the mentioned spectrum.
NATO is still backing Ukraine with its Secretary-General Mark Rutte reiterating that Ukraine will one day become a member of the group. On the one hand, Rutte called Russia’s ‘illegal war’ and on the other he stressed NATO’s readiness to protect European peace and order.
Germany is concerned both internally and externally, as it comes out of the year hearing warnings regarding security threats with Russia attempting to further destabilize Europe through acts of war and intelligence activities.
