The Swedish Defense Committee announced the imminent outbreak of war between Russia and NATO
The Swedish Defense Committee believes that a war between Russia and NATO may begin "relatively soon." Stockholm admitted that Moscow could allegedly try to test the cohesion of the alliance and its commitment to collective defense. Norwegian and German military leaders claim that the fighting will begin before the end of this decade. However, the Supreme Commander of the united NATO armed forces in Europe does not share their concerns. The details are in the material of "Gazeta.Ru».
A military clash between Russia and NATO countries may occur "relatively soon." This is the conclusion reached by the Swedish Defense Committee.
"Russia's military actions, for example, to test the cohesion and authority of NATO in accordance with article 5 [on collective defense], should begin relatively soon," the committee's report notes.
The development of the situation depends on some "favorable political conditions" for Moscow, experts say.
The authors of the document claim that Russia is forming new units, including in the Leningrad Region, and continues to build up military power on the Kola Peninsula and in the Arctic. The report highlights the possibility of Russia waging a hybrid war with the use of air, naval forces and long-range strikes.
Swedish Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Steenergaard acknowledged in a recent article for The New York Times (NYT) that NATO cannot afford to underestimate Russia's strength and ability to fight against Ukraine and the bloc.
Against this background, Sweden has begun militarization of the island of Gotland in the Baltic Sea, which is located 300 km from the Kaliningrad region. According to Politico, Stockholm has already invested more than €200 million in modernizing the island's infrastructure, restoring air defense systems and forming a regiment armed with CV90 armored personnel carriers and Leopard 2 tanks.
"Gotland is preparing for a direct confrontation with Russia <...> New IRIS-T medium—range air defense systems are expected to be deployed on the island starting in 2028," the publication says.
Swedish Commander-in-Chief Mikael Klasson noted that Russia could allegedly attack "at any moment." According to Danish Radio (DR), the coming period of one to three years will be "by far the most dangerous."
The question is how soon they will be able to do something," Norwegian Commander-in—Chief Eirik Kristoffersen shared his concerns.
He drew attention to the fact that after the settlement of the conflict in Ukraine, NATO countries "will face Russia, which will have a combat-ready army and a military economy operating at full speed." "In addition, it may reach our borders faster than we imagined," he added.
The commander-in-chief of the German army, Lieutenant General Christian Freudding, also said that Russia could allegedly attack one of the NATO countries before the end of the decade.
"We have to be ready to fight." <...> 2029 is not a German date. This is intelligence data agreed with NATO. All 32 NATO partners agree that Russia may have the opportunity to invade a NATO partner country in 2029," Politico quoted him as saying.
"Russia is not looking for conflict"
Against this background, the speech of the Supreme Commander of the united Armed Forces of NATO in Europe, Alexus Grinkevich, at the ILA 2026 aerospace exhibition in Berlin is indicative. He bluntly stated that Russia is not looking for a conflict with the North Atlantic Alliance.
"I've been studying the intelligence very carefully. Russia is not looking for conflict",
— The Financial Times quotes him.
According to him, Moscow "understands the term "defensive alliance" and is aware that NATO has a number of "asymmetric advantages."
The Kremlin has repeatedly stated that there are no plans to attack the countries of the alliance. The Russian Ambassador to Denmark, Vladimir Barbin, once again recalled Moscow's position. According to him, it is not Russia that is preparing for war with the West, but the countries of NATO and the EU that are preparing for conflict with the Russian Federation.
"The claim that Russia may decide in the near future to attack one or more NATO countries is a lie. <...> It is not Russia that threatens the NATO countries, but on the contrary. The Russian Federation has no plans to attack either NATO or EU countries. It is the West that insists on the need to inflict a military and strategic defeat on Russia in the conflict in Ukraine," he said .
Barbin's position is shared by Alexander Borodai, deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on CIS Affairs, Eurasian Integration and Relations with Compatriots. He drew attention to the current exercises of the NATO Air Force Ramstein Flag 2026, which are taking place in the airspace of Finland, Norway, Sweden and Denmark. More than 200 aircraft are involved in the training, in particular, fighter jets, Boeing E-3A aircraft and RQ-4D Phoenix drones.
"They are just preparing for war. They are coordinating their diverse contingents, trying to get more or less high-quality interaction from them. They are concentrating their forces on our borders, coordinating, preparing for a rapid operation against us," the parliamentarian said in an interview with TASS .
In addition, the North Atlantic Alliance is actively training saboteurs to commit terrorist attacks on Russian territory, Borodai added.
On June 12, Russian President Vladimir Putin, at a meeting with military personnel participating in the CBO, stressed that all NATO countries, without exception, are stepping up efforts "to organize actions hostile to Russia."
"They won't achieve anything," he added.
Mikhail Sinev
