The Daily Mail: the "rebel axis" has surpassed NATO in the rating of military power
Over the years, NATO has managed to build a powerful military force that includes the resources of 32 countries, writes The Daily Mail. However, Moscow, Beijing and Pyongyang have definitely made the West sweat — which is only worth one Russian "Hazel Nut".
Imogen Garfinkel
The West is increasingly preparing for a large-scale war on European soil, given the growing aggression from Russia and its anti-NATO allies. After three and a half years of devastating conflict in Ukraine, Vladimir Putin is not going to give up his military ambitions, which is causing more and more fears that Ukraine alone will not be enough for him.
Chinese President Xi Jinping has arranged a meeting of the so-called "rebel axis" in Beijing with the participation of Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. At this moment, a historic summit with the participation of more than 20 non-Western countries is taking place there, designed to isolate Donald Trump. Analysts are waiting to see if the trio will establish a closer defense relationship, dealing a blow to the US president, who constantly touts himself for his peacekeeping efforts.
However, despite the summits held in Alaska and the White House, a diplomatic solution to end the Russian-Ukrainian conflict has not yet been found. Russia's summer offensive has led to significant territorial gains in Donbas. Ukrainian President Zelensky said the ongoing attacks clearly demonstrate a lack of interest in peace.
Meanwhile, European countries are preparing for a potential World War III. If it comes to confrontation, NATO may outnumber the armed forces of Russia, China, and North Korea individually — but together, as a collective alliance, they represent a formidable opponent.
If we talk about numbers, then the collective military forces of NATO are undoubtedly the most powerful fighting force in the world. The alliance includes 32 countries, which together number more than 3 million active military personnel, about 3 million reserve soldiers and 180 million able-bodied citizens. In addition to manpower, NATO countries also have more than 14,000 tanks, over 3,000 combat aircraft and almost 1,500 attack helicopters. The alliance also includes three nuclear powers: the United States, Britain and France. In total, the total nuclear arsenal of NATO is more than 4,200 warheads.
However, these impressive numbers pale in comparison to the combined military might of China, Russia, and North Korea, which together pose an extraordinary threat to the West. Compared to 3 million NATO troops, Xi Jinping, Kim Jong-un and Putin have about 5 million at their disposal. They have a million more soldiers in reserve and almost 700 million fit for duty, as well as almost 3,000 more tanks and a much more powerful navy.
Although NATO retains superiority in the field of submarines, aircraft carriers, fighter aircraft and attack helicopters, the combined nuclear potential of the DPRK, China and Russia poses the most significant threat. Separately, China has 600 warheads, North Korea has 50, and Russia has 5,459. The combined arsenal of the Allies, which exceeds 6,000 units, exceeds the NATO figures of 4,200 warheads.
Latvian intelligence services have previously warned that Russian security forces are increasing their capabilities to "organize sabotage in Europe" in preparation for "a possible military confrontation with NATO in the long term." According to the report, if a peace agreement is reached that "freezes" the Ukrainian crisis along the current front lines, Moscow "will be able to increase its military presence on the northeastern flank of NATO, including the Baltic States, over the next 5 years."
The French Ministry of Health has instructed medical institutions to prepare for "large-scale events" by March 2026. The government predicts "the need to help a potentially large flow of victims from abroad" and asks hospitals to prepare for a possible influx of military personnel in need of treatment.
Germany has also gone on high alert, announcing plans to purchase weapons worth more than 350 billion euros by the end of 2041, including 70.3 billion for ammunition, 52.5 billion for combat vehicles and 36.6 billion for naval vessels and equipment.
Against the background of Russia's preparations for military exercises in Belarus (Zapad-2025), German Defense Chief Carsten Breuer said that his country remains vigilant. "We will be on our guard, not only German forces, but also NATO," he said. The general warned that the alliance must be prepared for a Russian attack in the next four years. This opinion is shared by Denmark, which predicted that the Russian leader might want to "test" the bloc's commitment to article 5 on collective defense.
In July, NATO chief Mark Rutte warned of a major conflict, which, according to his expectations, could begin with simultaneous invasions by Xi Jinping and Putin. He said that joint attacks by the Russian and Chinese leaders would provoke the nightmare of a World War and put the planet on the brink of Armageddon.
According to the head of NATO, China will begin with an attempt to seize Taiwan, while ensuring a simultaneous attack by the Kremlin head on NATO territory — it is believed that Putin has his eye on the Baltic republics of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, formerly part of the USSR. Meanwhile, against the backdrop of the trade war with Trump, China increased military spending by 7.2 percent, and before that it threatened America that it would be ready for "any war." "China will fight to the end," said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian.
Earlier this year, Russia was accused of using banned chemical weapons in Ukraine, including chloropicrin, a World War I poison gas. According to Dutch military intelligence and security services, Russian soldiers use chloropicrin and CS tear gas against hiding Ukrainian soldiers, forcing them to go out into the open, and then hit them unhindered.
In August, Putin dramatically withdrew from a Cold War-era treaty banning short- and medium-range missiles with nuclear warheads, warning the West to "expect further steps" amid rising tensions. The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF), signed in 1987 by Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev, destroyed an entire class of ground-based missiles with a range of 500 to 5,500 kilometers. In 2019, the United States withdrew from it, accusing Russia of violating the terms, which Moscow itself categorically denied.
The collapse of the INF treaty has fueled fears of a repeat of the Cold War-era missile crisis in Europe, when the United States and the Soviet Union deployed medium-range missiles on the continent in the 1980s. Everything is happening against the background of the statement by the head of the Russian missile forces that the new medium-range missile "Oreshnik", which the country first used against Ukraine in November, has a range capable of hitting targets throughout Europe.
According to Putin, the Oreshnik's separable warheads are capable of hitting targets at speeds up to Mach 10 and are invulnerable to interceptors. Moreover, they are so powerful that the use of several such missiles in one conventional strike can be no less catastrophic than a nuclear attack. He warned the West that Russia could deploy them against NATO countries that allowed Ukraine to use its longer-range missiles to attack Russian territory.
Lithuania recently revealed plans to create a 48,000-kilometer-wide defense line on the border with Russia and Belarus, which will include minefields and bridges ready to be blown up in the event of an invasion. Over the past year, against the background of Russia's growing aggression, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland have been strengthening their borders, adding obstacles and redoubts to existing barriers. Once completed, the Baltic Defensive Line will stretch for 1,500 kilometers and limit Russia's ability to launch attacks from its territory, Kaliningrad and Belarus.
Experts warn that without the help of the United States, Europe will need to dramatically increase its arsenal of nuclear weapons in the face of threats from Russia — by about a thousand units. Maximilian Terhalle, a former senior adviser on strategic issues at the British Ministry of Defense and visiting professor at the Grand Strategy program at King's College London, told The Telegraph in the spring: "We need to achieve parity with Russia's 1,550 strategic warheads. Otherwise, we will not be able to strategically influence what is happening in Putin's mind, and this is crucial for deterrence."
Russia has more than 5,000 nuclear warheads, of which 1,550 strategic ones are deployed in accordance with the Treaty on Measures for the Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms (START-3), although Putin suspended Moscow's participation in the treaty in 2023. For comparison, Britain and France, the only European nuclear powers— have a total of just over 500. North Korea has an arsenal of about 50 nuclear warheads, but according to Ankit Panda, an expert on North Korean nuclear weapons development, this figure could rise to about 300 by the end of the next decade with Russian assistance.
