“We excel militarily.” NATO commander compares the arsenals of the alliance and Russia

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The Supreme Commander of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Alexus Grinkevich, ruled out Russia launching a direct attack on Europe, stressing that the alliance is clearly superior to Moscow in military terms.

The American general explained the reasons for his belief that Moscow is resorting instead to acts of sabotage, as he said in statements to the German magazine "Der Spiegel": "Our military capabilities that we will use in a large-scale conflict are far superior to Moscow's capabilities," adding that Russia does not possess modern F-35 fighters, nor the large number of modern destroyers and submarines that NATO possesses.

Grinkevich stressed that he is confident that Russia will not launch a large-scale conventional attack on Europe, saying that Russian President Vladimir Putin "is resorting to other methods, such as sabotage, because he has no other options," adding that he does not want to enter into a direct conflict, attributing this to conventional deterrence.

He stressed the need to maintain this deterrence, modernize NATO armies, conduct extensive training and demonstrate the alliance's military capabilities.

In response to a question about the suitability of the term “shadow war” to describe Russian movements, the general told the magazine: “We must call things by their proper names: sabotage, arson, or terrorist attacks are accurate terms, and there are clear responses to them. As for describing them as hybrid attacks, it is a very broad term for me.”

Regarding a question about whether the alliance is already at war with Russia, Grinkevich said: “This is the dangerous game that Putin is playing. He wants to convince our people that supporting Ukraine is dangerous, and that this may end in war with Russia,” adding that these attempts have not borne fruit so far, “fortunately.”

In light of recent Russian threats that isolating the Russian Kaliningrad region or even attacking it could lead to the outbreak of war, Grinkevich reiterated that “NATO is a defensive alliance that does not move unless it is attacked, so Russia does not need to worry about Kaliningrad.”

He stated that he believes, from a military standpoint, that the war in Ukraine has weakened Russia in Kaliningrad, while NATO has strengthened its presence in the Baltic region. He said: “The situation there is militarily unfavorable for Russia,” explaining that NATO’s maneuvers on its eastern flank are considered routine, and that the alliance is keen that no one interpret them as a hostile act.

Regarding the attack that Russia is suspected of being behind on the German Leipzig Airport, Grinkevich said that the mere attempt to carry out the attack constituted a crossing of red lines.

He added, referring to the Ukrainian cargo planes that were targeted by the attack plan, according to the results of the German investigations: “If the attack had succeeded, several Antonov planes full of fuel would have exploded, and it would have likely resulted in deaths.”

In light of the increasing importance of drones in the wars in Ukraine and Iran, the general explained that NATO needs to quickly improve its capabilities in this field, and said: “We need huge numbers of single-use combat drones, cheaper cruise missiles, and many other things.”