In an article published this Sunday (15) in the British newspaper The Guardianthe military leaders of the United Kingdom and Germany stated that Europe needs to prepare for the possibility of a conflict against Russia and defended a broad rearmament of the continent as a measure to preserve peace.
In the text, Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Knighton, Chief of the United Kingdom’s Defense Staff, and General Carsten Breuer, German Defense Chief, wrote that European security is today “more uncertain than it has been in decades” and warned that Moscow has “decisively” changed its military stance to the Western side.
According to the two commanders, Russia is rearming and learning from the invasion of Ukraine, reorganizing its forces “in ways that could increase the risk of conflict with NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) countries”. They state that this is “a reality for which we need to prepare” and argue that there is no room for “complacency”.
Still in the text, military leaders defend European rearmament as a necessity given the current security scenario. “Rearmament is not incitement to war; it is the responsible action of nations determined to protect their citizens and preserve peace,” they wrote. They add that “strength deters aggression; weakness invites it.”
The article recalls that NATO leaders committed, at the alliance summit held last year in The Hague, to allocate 5% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to defense and security by 2035. For the authors, this goal reflects the new strategic reality of the continent and requires “difficult choices” in public budgets.
Commanders also argue that the European defense industry needs to be prepared for sustained production of munitions, military systems and platforms, saying the war in Ukraine demonstrated that robust industrial bases are decisive in protracted conflicts.
The text cites concrete measures adopted by London and Berlin for a possible conflict against Moscow. The United Kingdom, according to the article, is building at least six ammunition factories to maintain permanent stock replenishment capacity. Germany, in turn, decided to permanently station a combat brigade on the eastern flank and amended its Constitution to allow virtually unrestricted defense funding.
Furthermore, as highlighted in the article, the European Union’s Security for Europe (Safe) initiative plans to inject 150 billion euros to strengthen the bloc’s defense industrial base.
The authors defend in the text an approach to defending Europe that involves the whole of society, including resilient infrastructure, technological research and institutions prepared to operate under increasing threats.
“The complexity of the threats requires an honest conversation with the public,” they say.
In conclusion, the military leaders reinforce that European unity is central to deterrence. According to them, history demonstrates that deterrence fails when adversaries perceive “disunity and weakness” – a scenario that, in the authors’ assessment, cannot be allowed given Russia’s current stance.
