Nato official warns of all-out war with Russia in next 20 years

Nato forces are bracing for all-out war with Russia in the next 20 years, a top military official has warned. 

"We have to realise it's not a given that we are in peace," said Admiral Rob Bauer, the  chairman of Nato's military committee, after a meeting of defence chiefs in Brussels on Thursday. "And that's why we have the plans, that's why we are preparing for a conflict with Russia."

The day before, Bauer had said the alliance needed a "warfighting transformation", and asked the West to "gear up for an era in which anything could happen at any time", said The Independent. 

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Nearly 90,000 troops are preparing for Nato's "biggest military exercises in decades" across Europe next week. They are "aimed at showing the alliance can defend all of its territory up to its border with Russia", said the news site. 

The operation, dubbed "Steadfast Defender 2024", has more than doubled in size since it was announced last year. On Monday, Defence Secretary Grant Shapps said the UK would be sending 20,000 troops, two new aircraft carriers and eight warships to join the operation. 

But in a "stark warning", said the Daily Mail, Bauer told reporters that civilians must also be ready for a conflict that would require wholesale change in their lives. People "have to understand they play a role", the Dutch naval officer said, adding that large numbers of people would need to be mobilised in case of war. 

Bauer "praised Sweden for asking all of its citizens to brace for war", reported The Daily Telegraph, as the country prepares to join the security alliance.

Stockholm's decision "has led to a surge in volunteers for the country's civil defence organisation", reported the paper, "and a spike in sales of torches and battery-powered radios".

"It starts there," Bauer said. "The realisation that not everything is planable and not everything is going to be hunky dory in the next 20 years."