Russian President Vladimir Putin may be conserving military and air firepower for an attack on NATO countries, according to a new report.
On Wednesday, NATO’s Defense College released a policy brief titled “The Russian Army After Ukraine: Down, But Not Out,” which discusses the current state of Russian military forces amid the ongoing war in Ukraine and how it could lead to further attack on NATO countries.
The report states that despite Russia’s losses in terms of military personnel, armored vehicles, aircraft and artillery weapons, “Russia has not used its full military potential in the attack on Ukraine.”
“He did not order a general mobilization. Maintaining the ability to participate, if necessary, in operations against NATO can explain some of the features and “surprises” of the Russian war against Ukraine, for example, the limited use of air power, the gradual deployment of older and less precise weapons systems or what appear to be subdued attacks in cyberspace,” the report said. “The official Russian narrative is almost always defensive, but the essence of Moscow’s approach is to change the status quo. In this context, an attack against a NATO country remains possible.”
A new NATO report suggests that Russia may be saving its military power and air support for a potential attack on NATO countries. Above, Russian MiG-29 fighter jets from the Strizhi group and Su-30SM fighter jets from the Russian Knights aerobatic groups fly in formation over the Kremlin and Red Square in Moscow on May 7, 2021, during a rehearsal for the Military Day parade of victory. ALEXANDER NEMENOV/AFP/Getty
The report comes amid the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine, which has prompted many officials to warn that Putin may not stop in Ukraine and may eventually attack a NATO country.
In June, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke to NATO leaders and warned that Russia could eventually attack NATO countries.
“Next year, the situation may worsen not only for Ukraine, but also for several other countries, possibly NATO members, that may be under fire from Russia,” Zelensky said. “Then it will be our collective failure – both for Ukraine and for NATO.
The NATO report published on Wednesday echoed Zelensky’s remarks and said: “However, the poor performance of Russian forces in the first months of their war against Ukraine and the scale of casualties and material losses they suffered should prompt further reflection on Russia’s ability to recover and challenge NATO militarily’.
As the report notes, Russia is facing heavy losses in its war with Ukraine. Citing data from the Ukrainian Defense Ministry, the report said that “between February 24 and July 2, Russia lost 35,870 servicemen, approximately 1,582 tanks, 3,737 armored vehicles, 800 artillery systems, 246 multiple-launch missile systems launch, 217 aircraft, 186 helicopters and 15 ships.”
Newsweek has reached out to NATO and the Russian Foreign Ministry for comment.
Despite the NATO Defense College report, one of Putin’s former speechwriters, Abbas Galyamov, recently said the Russian military was “obviously at a loss” and that it was currently “improvising”.
“Putin needs to achieve something that will convince Russians that he has won and he cannot get it,” Galyamov said in an interview with Radio Free Europe last week.
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