“War readiness is a process that we will go through. But we do not have unlimited time to do this,” said Bundeswehr Inspector General General Carsten Breuer. Referring to analysts' observations and Russia's military potential, he said that “we have five to eight years to prepare.”

This does not mean there will be war. But it's possible. And because I am a military man, I say: in five years we must be ready for war

– emphasized the Inspector General of the Bundeswehr in an interview for the newspaper “Welt am Sonntag”.

Breuer, when asked how likely it was that Putin would reach out to other countries beyond Ukraine, said this was primarily due to his intentions.

I recognized it in Putin based on what he wrote and said – and based on his actions in Ukraine. This also includes military potential. Russia has shifted to a war economy. So the potential is currently growing

said the German general.

Russia's attack on NATO

According to the chairman of the Munich Security Conference, Christoph Heusgen, if Ukraine loses the war, a Russian attack on NATO territory cannot be ruled out.

Heusgen, when asked whether he believed Putin was capable of launching an attack on a NATO country, told the Rheinische Post newspaper:

Of course. Putin has repeatedly said that the greatest disaster of the 20th century was the collapse of the Soviet Union (…).

Putin wants to rebuild Great Russia within the borders of the former Soviet Union, a global Russian empire over which he would rule like a tsar, Heusgen said.

If Putin does not lose the war in Ukraine, we must take into account that he will also achieve victory in Moldova or the Baltic states, he stressed.

mly/PAP