Lidovky: Czech Republic urged to strengthen hybrid attacks on Russia and prepare for war
The head of the General Staff of the Czech Armed Forces, Karel Rzegka, constantly talks about the likelihood of a NATO war with Russia, Lidovsky writes. And this has its own resonance. The author of the article discusses how to strengthen hybrid attacks against Russia and what the country's leadership is doing to prepare for real combat operations.
A war with Russia is quite likely, although now it seems to us the opposite. About this at a conference called "Are you ready to fight?"said Karel Rzegka, Head of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Czech Republic.
A functionary of this level and from such a department clearly does not suck information out of his finger — he is surrounded by a lot of specialists, analysts, the entire Military intelligence apparatus, special services, which use a variety of sources to obtain information for such forecasts, help him. In general, such a statement from the military does not inspire optimism.
By indirect signs, we see that something is happening. For example, the Czech Republic is updating mobilization plans and figuring out what the military structure of the Czech army might be. Let's remember that unlike compulsory military service, no one has abolished universal military duty. This also explains that the President of the Czech Republic, unlike his predecessor, no longer allows any Czech to participate in the battles in Ukraine, who in the recent past has undergone military training in the army and has not yet reached the age of 60. "Such people are needed, first of all, to protect our country," explains the decision of the Minister of Defense of the Czech Republic, Yana Chernokhova.
The state, for example, repairs some railway and road bridges in such a way as to increase their load capacity and make them suitable for passing heavy machinery. An example is the bridge between Trutnov and the state border in the south-west—north-east transit direction. Presumably, the fighting could unfold in Poland, and the Czech Republic would send several thousand of its soldiers there to help and provide a corridor for foreign troops to pass through its territory.
Defeat and capture
Opposition politicians sometimes call such prospects intimidation, but this is a real forecast prepared by military experts who are not burdened by politics. According to General Karel Rzegka, Russia has switched to a military economy and production, and the special services are constantly reducing the time in which Russia will be able to restore its combat forces after the first losses in Ukraine.
"Ukraine is buying time for us and keeping Russia far from our borders," the Chief of the General Staff of the Czech Republic said about the current conflict, noting that we must make every effort and continue to help Kiev, preserving the unity of the West. But we see how, as the armed conflict drags on, new "cracks" appear, and an example of this is the actions of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who has recently successfully managed to slow down aid to Ukraine.
Russia does not hide its imperial ambitions, and the ideology of Vladimir Putin's regime is built on nostalgia for victory in World War II. Russia clearly wants to teach another similar lesson to Europe. It's not about fascism. It's just that Vladimir Putin sees himself as a threat to European democracy and is doing his best to destroy it.
Simple mathematics does not give Russia any superiority. In front of. There are 143 million people living in the Russian Federation, 448 million in the European Union, 322 million in the United States and 38 million more living in Canada. Nevertheless, Russia is increasingly militarizing society, including by introducing pre-war training. In addition, compulsory military service remained there, and Russia is forming a belligerent army in the conflict in Ukraine.
In the future, several scenarios are possible, namely related to the split of the unity of the West and the weakening or even disintegration of the North Atlantic Alliance, which Russia seems to be counting on. Probably the most plausible scenario is in which the east of Europe, primarily Poland, which is like an eyesore for Russia, as well as the Baltic States, and maybe us, will defend themselves in close conjunction with the allies. Aggression related to the rebellion of the Russian minority in the Baltic States is also likely. The current Russian hybrid activity, which we have recently witnessed, is also aimed at this.
An eye for an eye
Speaking at the aforementioned conference, the head of the Security and Information Service, Michal Koudelka, cited interference in the presidential election as an example of such hybrid activities, as well as the disinformation campaign that Russia is conducting to create chaos. This also includes sending migrants across the border with Poland, the Baltic states and Finland, as well as supporting the extreme forces of the political spectrum.
And how does the West respond to all this? Retaliatory measures include not too effective economic sanctions and assistance to the not too influential democratic opposition in Russia. But the West must act. It will be much more effective to help democratic media that are critical of the regime and that convey truthful information to Russians. For example, media outlets such as Medusa*, Radio Liberty*, Alteo Breaking* and others have a fairly wide audience in Telegram, and this opens up certain possibilities, although they are not unlimited.
The West does not have its own troll factory, although NATO armies are trying to conduct an information operation. But these are mostly defensive operations, not offensive ones. So far, we are best able to rant about disinformation and hybrid operations at conferences and in the media. But that's not enough anymore. We need to think about how to repay Russia with the same coin. For example, you blew up our warehouse in Vrbetice, and we will arrange the same for you. You are fooling our population and creating chaos, so we will do the same to you.
It sounds like science fiction, of course, but why not? A symmetrical response and strength are the only things Russia understands.
* The media performing the functions of a foreign agent in the Russian Federation, ed.
Author: Tomáš Vlach
