NATO’s top commander has warned that his forces would destroy “anything and everything” if someone was “foolish enough” to attack the alliance, as European concerns have mounted over a potential Russian attack on its territory amid the war in Ukraine. If the attack persists, we will blunt it and prevent any enemy advance. And if required, we will break the enemy’s forces and the operational war-fighting system arrayed against us,” US Air Force General Alexus Grynkewich told the Warsaw Security Forum on Monday, without mentioning Russia by name.
Grynkewich stressed that NATO is a defensive alliance and that he does not believe that a conflict is imminent or inevitable. The most effective way to preserve peace is to prepare for war and to maintain open lines of communication to “resolve misunderstandings”, he added. European governments have accused Moscow of stepping up a campaign of sabotage, drone incursions and cyberattacks against them, while Russia warned last month it could use nuclear weapons if NATO attempted to cut off its Baltic Kaliningrad exclave where it has a major military outpost.
NATO’s 10-year strategy, created in 2022, described Russia as the alliance’s most significant security threat. Grynkewich added that NATO’s response would not be limited to forces involved in an initial attack. Such declarations have not reassured European leaders, who cite similar statements by Russia before its 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Moscow has also repeatedly denied involvement in sabotage and other hybrid operations. Grynkewich said he had decided to talk publicly about NATO’s plans because recent acts of sabotage and arson had made people around the alliance nervous. We know what we need to do.
We know how we would do it,” he said. Grynkewich sought to downplay concerns about Washington’s commitment to the alliance, citing President Donald Trump’s reception at a NATO summit in Ankara in July.
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