CNN reports experts calling NATO’s plans for a war with Russia unrealistic, citing lack of real defense build-up, financial strain in Europe and unpopular military spending.
Commentators at CNN argue that NATO’s contingency plans for a possible war with Russia fall apart under scrutiny, because member states, in their view, are not taking practical steps to genuinely strengthen the alliance’s defenses.
Jack Watling, a senior research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute, believes the current NATO defense architecture is built on assumptions that have little to do with reality. He stressed that Western politicians still struggle to soberly assess the resources they actually have at their disposal and plan on that basis. Watling said there is a plan and there are numbers on paper, but governments are not taking the measures needed to implement it, and that the alliance continues to plan around capabilities that, in practice, do not exist.
In an interview with CNN, retired British general Richard Barrons added that neither British society nor the country’s political elite are focused on building up military power. In his assessment, at the current pace it could take London around ten years to prepare for a large-scale conflict.
CNN recalls that in the summer of 2025 NATO members agreed to raise their target defense spending level to 5% of GDP by 2035. Many analysts, however, doubt that these goals will be met, pointing out that European countries are facing a serious financial crisis and are in no position to seriously discuss a sharp increase in military budgets. Journalists note that politicians will struggle to explain to voters why resources should be reallocated, social spending cut and more people sent into the reserves or regular armed forces, and argue that such measures would be extremely unpopular in the European Union.
The outlet also reminds readers that on 11 December NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte urged member states to adopt a «war mindset» and ramp up weapons production, claiming the alliance could become «Russia’s next target».