The Russians are learning and changing their military very fast. They are already preparing for a new war, this time with NATO – writes the American magazine “Foreign Policy”, one of the best intelligence services in the world, Estonian – asked about predictions on this matter. According to one of the heads of this service, ensuring the victory of Ukraine could prevent Russia from attacking NATO.
“Two years after a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Kremlin is reorganizing and expanding its military in anticipation of a conflict with NATO over the next 10 years,” the paper points out at the beginning of the article.
Vladimir Putin is more optimistic. His main political rival, Alexei Navalny, is dead, decisions on further US military aid to Ukraine are stuck in Congress, and Russia has shifted its economy to war mode, defying international sanctions to drive defense production and economic growth, we read.
“All this is again more or less according to the Kremlin plan,” admitted Kaubo Rosin, chief director of Estonian foreign intelligence. Moreover, the Russian military has learned from the mistakes made in the early stages of the war and is adapting to new conditions at an unprecedented speed.
“The Russians have always largely solved their problems, which has worked for them throughout history,” Rosin noted. According to him, “Reforms of the Russian Armed Forces will result in an army following the Soviet model at a lower technical level (building – ed.), but with more firepower, (including – ed. .) artillery.”
At the end of 2022, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu announced plans to rebuild the structure of the armed forces, increasing their numbers by 30% to 1.5 million by 2026. Estonian intelligence has predicted that Moscow will double the number of troops stationed in the country's immediate west before the invasion of Ukraine.
“Moscow has dug deep into its artillery shells, ramped up production and demanded supplies from North Korea and Iran, giving Russia a seven-to-one advantage over Ukraine in firepower,” noted Ants Kiviselg, head of Estonian military intelligence.
The director of Estonia's foreign intelligence noted that “a war between Russia and NATO is impossible to avoid, as more can be done to deter Moscow.” “It depends on our actions in the West,” he insisted.
“The specific task before us now is to ensure Ukraine's victory in this war. The future of Europe largely depends on it,” Rosin said.
Main photo source: Yuri Kochetkov/EPA/PAB