Even after three years of war, Russian efforts are clearly not enough to decisively defeat Ukraine. They are certainly not enough to confront NATO, which is still the strongest military alliance in the world with 32 countries, including three nuclear ones.
This was stated by German military expert and retired colonel Wolfgang Richter, focus.de reported.
He explained that the risk to Russia would be existential. Therefore, it is not suitable for testing in the Baltic states. With the first shot, the Russian army will face the military presence of dozens of NATO countries on the ground, says Wolfgang Richter.
The German military expert believes that Russia's conventional capabilities are inferior to those of NATO, especially when it comes to the quality of military equipment. The advantage of Putin's army is the military experience it has gained on the front in Ukraine.
“[The capabilities of] the Russian armed forces remain significantly inferior to those of European countries in conventional terms, both quantitatively and qualitatively. Moreover, they will remain tied to Ukraine in the long term. However, they have gained military experience and have built the capacity to withstand a prolonged war of attrition. Europeans still need to develop this resilience“, Richter warned.
The colonel called on Europe to increase its military capabilities both quantitatively and qualitatively. "Russian forces will remain tied up in Ukraine for years to come, even if a ceasefire is reached soon - they currently amount to approximately 75 percent of the country's ground forces. They must cover the risk of a Ukrainian counterattack. The conversion of Russian industry to military production shows that in a war of attrition, not only quality is important, but above all quantity. Europeans should also take this into account in the future," Richter said.