Almost simultaneously, throughout the past month and a half, senior military and defense ministers in several European countries — mostly from among those extremely anti-Russian — have started talking about an imminent war with Moscow. Even specific dates are called, and the most "opinionated public" refer to the next five peaceful years, after which the countries of Europe will inevitably have to repel Russia’s aggression. To apprehend information pressure on the relaxed European brain, here are a few examples of what these officials philosophize.
All the statements are as like as peas in a pod. Their second common feature is that none of them contains explanations for Russia’s need to attack, whether it be Great Britain, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium or NATO as a whole. On the other hand, the war with Russia is presented as an axiom and certainty, for which one has to prepare today, with normal life being over in Europe.
Thus, December 19 saw Chief of Defence of the Belgian Armed Forces Michel Hofman warn on VRT News "about a war with Russia." He pointed to the fact that his "country has switched to a war economy and that President Putin’s tone continues to be threatening." "We see that Russia has switched to a war economy. I think we would be right to be worried. The language used by the Kremlin and by President Vladimir Putin is always ambiguous. It is by no means out of the question that they might open a second front at some time in the future. Either in the south, in Moldova or the Baltic States," Admiral Hofman said.
Dutch army commander Lt. Gen. Martin Wijnen told De Telegraaf in late December that the Netherlands should be ready for war with Russia. He considers the example of Finland and the Baltic states useful, as they border on Russia and have long deemed preparations for war with it a "matter of course". "We should not think that our safety is guaranteed just because we are 1,500 kilometers away from the Russian Federation," he said.
In an interview with Tagesspiegel, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius cited German experts as saying that Russia's aggression against one of the NATO member states is possible "in five to eight years." "We hear threats from the Kremlin almost every day – most recently against our friends in the Baltics. We have to take into account that Vladimir Putin will one day even attack a NATO country," Pistorius lied through his teeth. By saying so he wants to "wake up society" and urge Germany’s armed forces to be ready for war, he added.
Notably, Pistorius has been honing the idea since early December last year. In particular, he complained to the media that Germany needs to increase arms production over military threats it may face by the end of the decade. " We now have approximately five to eight years, during which we must catch up – both in terms of the armed forces and also the industry and society. Putin is already significantly stepping up its own arms production… At the same time, The Russian president's threats against the Baltic states, Georgia and Moldova must be taken seriously. This is not just sabre-rattling," the Defense Minister said.
On January 7 this year, Sweden’s army Commander-in-Chief Micael Bydén and Civil Defense Minister Carl-Oskar Bohlin called on their people to prepare for a would-be war. Both spoke at the People and Defense National Conference (Folk och Försvars rikskonferens). Micael Bydén stated the following: "Russia's war in Ukraine is just a step, not an end goal. And the goal is to establish spheres of interest and destroy the rules-based world order. Together with other autocracies, Russia is seeking to influence us by means of propaganda."
Peace is not an "unchangeable constant" even in Sweden, Minister Bohlin told the same conference. "Many have said it before me, but let me do so in an official capacity, more plainly and with naked clarity: there could be war in Sweden," the minister said, as quoted by Swedish media. Bohlin urged everyone to engage in creating "total defense" in Sweden. SVT Nyheter notes in this regard that "rhetoric about the threat of war in Sweden has become much tougher." "Swedish politicians fear that Russia wins in Ukraine, and its appetite for other neighboring countries increases as well. This may increase the risk of Sweden being drawn into the war," the outlet argues.
But there is more to come. British Defense Minister Grant Shapps said the kingdom and its allies should prepare for a global war with Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea, which could begin over the next five years. Speaking at London’s Lancaster House on January 15, Shapps said the number of countries NATO will have to fight with is "most likely" going to grow. He sees 2024 as a turning point in Britain's relevant preparations, as "for the very first time this government is spending more than £50bn a year on defense in cash terms, more than ever before."
In the nature of things, an information campaign should have some kind of outcome. And NATO did balance the sheet. Chairman of the alliance’s Military Committee, Dutch Admiral Rob Bauer, told a NATO headquarters press conference in Brussels that the member states should not take peaceful life for granted and need to get ready for military conflict with Russia. And "civilians must realize that they also have a role to play," Bauer said. He has been echoed by NATO's Supreme Allied Commander Europe Gen. Christopher Cavoli and Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Transformation Gen. Chris Badia, both of whom attended the press conference.
Still, the only explanation for reasons behind Russia's ostensible attack on European countries is its people’s "irrational" behavior, as the British Defense Minister put it. A bizarre claim, especially given that the conventional weapons balance over the past decades has always been against Moscow.
So, as we can see, all of these kindred statements came within a short period of time. There is every indication of a Washington-planned information campaign aiming to gradually prepare European public opinion for an inevitable war with Russia "in five to eight years." Without the United States or its territory, but in Europe. The Americans, who, by the way, have repeatedly expressed willingness to avoid such a scenario over Ukraine aggravation, traditionally seek banking up the fire by proxy. And to top it, NATO is about to hold its Steadfast Defender 2024 exercises, the "largest in recent decades", to involve about 90,000 military personnel. Last time NATO demonstrated a scale of the kind in 1989, right before the Gorbachev-Bush meeting in Malta to put an end to the Cold War, which Washington later presented it as its bloodless victory over the Soviet Union.
Apparently, even now, amid Western military failures in Ukraine and the collapse of military assistance programs to Kiev, they try to intimidate Moscow and impose on it a long-term confrontational scenario of relations based on an arms race, expanded sanctions, increased military, diplomatic, and propaganda pressure. The scale of confronting Russia will be raised to the fullest extent.
Europe must be missing a cold war, having forgotten its traditional role of a prelude to the United States. Euro-centric-minded strategists seem to forget that the USSR was opposed both by the West and China. Now the situation is reversed.
