German top general says Russia threat is ‘extremely serious’

BERLIN

Germany’s top general Carsten Breuer warned Tuesday that Russia could test NATO’s defense readiness and attack a European country in the next four years.

“It’s extremely serious. Russian President Vladimir Putin is systematically implementing his plans. Their rearmament is underway,” the chief of defense Gen. Breuer said in an interview with the German daily Handelsblatt.

He said the timing of a possible attack on a European country is subject to many variables, and also depends on the course of the war in Ukraine.

“As a military man, I have to think in worst-case scenarios. And when the analysts say in four to seven years, then I assume four years,” he said, referring to Western intelligence reports warning of a potential attack.

“That doesn't mean that a Russian attack will really come in 2029, but it also doesn't mean that it couldn't happen sooner. We have to prepare for it as well as possible. That applies to society as a whole, not just the troops,” he said.

Gen. Carsten Breuer also argued that Russia is already conducting extensive intelligence operations and sabotage against Western countries.

“It is not enough to think only about a classic conventional attack. Russia thinks of war in a continuum,” he said.

“For Russia, the war has already begun if you look at the large number of hybrid attacks on critical infrastructure, and Russian influence operations in the West. I'm talking about espionage or acts of sabotage, which we experience on a daily basis,” he added.