How Europe is preparing for conflict as sobering loss of life warning issued amid fears of war between NATO and Russia
Europe is said to be preparing for war following the rising tensions between NATO and Russia.
A German general recently claimed that if a war with Russia were to begin, we would be seeing a daily death count on the battlefield that wouldn't have been seen in decades.
According to Surgeon General Ralf Hoffman, NATO has increased its spending on military preparation as the Kremlin continue to enter the airspaces of nearby nations without permission with drones and fighter jets.
The likes of Estonia, Poland and Romania have been targets, though all three are part of NATO, an intergovernmental military alliance between 32 member states.
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Putin has claimed that his nation doesn't plan any attacks on nations any time soon, despite claims from some of his confidants that Brits should look out for nuclear warheads heading our way.
Western nations have remained wary of Russia's next move, especially since their ongoing conflict with Ukraine is showing no signs of coming to an end - despite attempts from world leaders to try and broker a peace deal.
One of the main figures working to find a deal is none other than US President Donald Trump, with other NATO leaders also calling for an end to the war.
It's now been reported by DailyMail that Putin may be putting some military recruits together to prepare for a potential conflict with the NATO military alliance, as a Russian source claimed that about 292,000 people signed contracts with the Russian Ministry of Defence between the start of the year and the start of last week (15 September), say the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
They claimed that these recruits would be part of a strategic reserve of forces which have been in the works since July, as the source previously 'consistently provided accurate reports about changes in the Russian military command'.
The ISW added that Russia isn't interested in ending the war with Ukraine with one eye on a new war with NATO, though surgeon general Hoffmann claimed that 'the nature of warfare has changed dramatically in Ukraine', adding that 'the Ukrainians often cannot evacuate their wounded fast enough because drones are buzzing overhead everywhere'.
But now, Luigi Scazzieri, assistant director at the Centre for European Reform, stated in an EU defence brief: "It proved more convenient to rely on the US," saying that the neglect of 'equipment, stockpiles and readiness efforts' had to be addressed.
Nations across Europe are not working on the long-term stabilisation of their military forces with Poland now working to train every adult male for war, while Norway is looking to restore old military bunkers.
It will now be a requirement for the latter to include bomb shelters in all new buildings, while Germany are looking to invest in defence spending after unlocking billions.
Together with Denmark, they have warned that NATO should prepare for an attack in the next five years, with several European nations telling citizens to prepare survival kits in the worst-case scenarios.
British home secretary Yvette Cooper even revealed on Monday that British jets were looking to 'confront' Russian planes violating NATO airspace following their unwelcome visits in recent weeks.
Joshua Nair