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

Chair of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Military Committee Rob Bauer

Admiral Rob Bauer spoke after a meeting of defence chiefs in Brussels as Nato troops prepare for massive military exercises next week

(Image credit: Getty Images)

By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK

published 19 January 2024

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.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

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.

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."

Explore More

Harriet Marsden is a writer for The Week, mostly covering UK and global news and politics. Before joining the site, she was a freelance journalist for seven years, specialising in social affairs, gender equality and culture. She worked for The Guardian, The Times and The Independent, and regularly contributed articles to The Sunday Times, The Telegraph, The New Statesman, Tortoise Media and Metro, as well as appearing on BBC Radio London, Times Radio and “Woman’s Hour”. She has a master’s in international journalism from City University, London, and was awarded the "journalist-at-large" fellowship by the Local Trust charity in 2021.