In Poland, it is believed that Russia is not currently prepared for a major offensive against NATO
His comments were reported by the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Sikorski emphasised that Russia does indeed pose a threat to NATO countries and this must be taken seriously. However, he believes that European intelligence would be aware if Russia were preparing for a major offensive against the Alliance.
“We have seen a build-up of 100,000 troops around Ukraine, which has been growing for months,” Sikorski noted.
However, he points out that Russia’s intentions are more sinister than Western European countries had anticipated, and that Russia is currently capable of sabotage or provocations that do not amount to a full-scale invasion. According to Sikorski, NATO must be prepared for this.
Earlier, Reuters, citing Lithuanian intelligence, reported that Russia plans to build an army 30–50% larger than the one it had prior to the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, and to replenish its reserves of weapons and ammunition in order to be ready for a large-scale conflict with NATO in six years’ time
Meanwhile, the Financial Times reported that former recruiters for the Russian private military company Wagner are recruiting Europeans for terrorist attacks and sabotage, and over the past two years have increased the number of terrorist and sabotage attacks on European soil using ‘one-off’ agents.
As a reminder, at the end of April, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk stated that Russia could attack NATO “in the coming months”.
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