A military expert has warned that this year is “likely” to be very difficult for Ukraine as the war has turned into a “strategic stalemate.”
Sky News military analyst Simon Diggins said that Dutch Admiral Rob Bauer, chairman of the NATO military committee is “right to warn” civilians in the UK and across Europe to prepare for an outbreak of war.
Diggins said that Volodymyr Zelensky’s counteroffensive which started last year has “not succeeded,” he added that it is currently “unclear” if Vladimir Putin will launch another offensive.
He then warned that “Putin has not given up and that he agrees with NATO’s top commander that the armed forces should prepare for war.
Read more on Russia-Ukraine war:
Top NATO commander warns civilians across Europe to prepare for an outbreak of war with Russia
This comes as next week NATO will launch their largest military exercises in decades, which will see around 90,000 troops taking part in wargames called Steadfast Defender 24.
The exercises will last until the end May which will simulate an “emerging conflict” scenario involving 31 nations that makes up NATO.
Diggins said that “Putin has a view of the world, which is basically that of the old Soviet Union, and that of the old Warsaw Pact.
“Remember that he served as an officer of the KGB in the old East Germany.
“He views that as the natural place of Russia – having a bulwark of states in front of him.”
The military analyst added, “I think the NATO official is right to warn us of Russia and Putin’s ambitions – they have not gone away.
“The attitude we’ve had up to now, where a lot of European countries have barely put any money into defence, has got to change.
“I think that will be the view of an awful lot of military officials.”
