NATO countries have started preparing roads and railways to move equipment in case of war with Russia

North Atlantic Alliance countries have begun preparing roads and infrastructure for the transfer of military equipment in the event of a full-scale conflict with Russia.

Source. This was reported by the Financial Times.

According to the newspaper's sources among the bloc's military officials, NATO's operational command for multinational forces in the German city of Ulm is developing a plan to deploy armed forces across Europe.

The project includes the operation of communication networks, the provision of energy and supplies to European countries, and the preparation of critical infrastructure such as roads and railways that may be needed to deploy equipment to the east.

This process will build on the results of the Resilient Defender exercise, which began on 24 January and will last four months.

In what will be the largest manoeuvres involving 90,000 troops since the end of the Cold War, NATO plans to simulate a large-scale conflict with an enemy in the east. More than a thousand pieces of military equipment and more than 50 ships are involved in the exercise.

"We know that adversaries are always looking for new ways to wage war. That is why we need to be on our toes. That's why we need to be prepared," said UK Defence Secretary Grant Shepps.

In 2024, the militaries of at least 10 NATO countries stated that a possible Russian aggression against the alliance countries was a realistic scenario for the near future.

In particular, Polish Defence Minister Władysław Kosyniak-Kamysz said that the Polish authorities do not rule out a Russian attack after the end of the war in Ukraine.

According to him, the Polish Ministry of Defence has already begun to take concrete steps against this threat, in particular, it has started to address gaps in the army's equipment: contracts for the supply of weapons worth 19 billion zlotys (over 4 billion euros) have been signed, mainly with Polish defence companies.

The Baltic states have begun to build a defence line on the borders with Russia and Belarus. It will include 1,000 concrete bunkers, anti-tank mines, ditches, barbed wire and the so-called dragon's teeth – pyramidal anti-tank structures made of concrete or reinforced concrete. Ammunition depots will be located near the borders.

Denmark's military intelligence agency has reported that Russia is "likely" to use military force and may challenge NATO countries.

Dutch Admiral Rob Bauer, chairman of NATO's military committee, said that war with Russia was inevitable. According to him, all countries in the bloc need to prepare for it to begin within the next 20 years. Similar calls were made by the chiefs of the army and defence ministers of the UK, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, Sweden, Germany, the Czech Republic, Belgium and Estonia.

Last summer, NATO countries launched a radical reform of military planning and, for the first time since the Cold War, began preparing detailed plans for an open armed confrontation with Russia. The plans will include both military strengthening and logistics, and their implementation could take several years. "The Allies will know exactly what forces and capabilities are needed, where, what and how to deploy them," NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg explained at the time.

Background. Meanwhile, according to a study, Russia has enough old tanks for at least 2-3 years of war. It has sent thousands of old tanks to the Ukrainian front from its warehouses, sometimes sending 90 vehicles a month.