Russia will remain a threat to NATO even if its forces are defeated in Ukraine, a senior military official in the Western alliance has said.
“Regardless of the outcome of the war, Russia is likely to have similar ambitions, so the threat will not go away,” Admiral Rob Bauer, chairman of NATO’s military committee, told reporters at headquarters of the alliance in Brussels.
Although the war has depleted Russian troops, equipment and ammunition, NATO countries expect Moscow to try to restore and even strengthen its military capabilities, Bauer said.
“The general consensus is that the Russians will restore what they had, that they will also learn from this conflict and try to improve on what they had,” Bauer said.
“So that will most likely have implications for our plans going forward,” he added.
It will take time for NATO to assess how long it will take Russia to rebuild and upgrade its forces, Bauer said.
