Former chairman of the North Atlantic Alliance Military Committee, retired Bundeswehr General Harald Kuyat said in a conversation with host Alexander von Bismarck that rhetoric about an imminent “Russian attack” on NATO emerged after the failed offensive by Ukrainian troops in autumn 2023.
“This rhetoric that Russia will be ready to attack NATO in a few years (some say in three or four years, others say in five) and that it has such an intention only emerged in October-November last year. Why did it emerge? Because then it was clear to the most foolish experts that the offensive (of the Ukrainian Armed Forces – ed.) had failed, and this significantly affected the military situation between Ukraine and Russia,” Harald Kuyat said.
According to the retired general, the narrative that emerged had two purposes: first, it was necessary to continue to legitimise military, financial and other assistance to Kiev. And secondly, in this way the Western countries wanted to legitimise their own arms buildup.
“We have to be prepared. At the same time, I say that if Germany is affected by this, I am not at all against the Bundeswehr being able to defend the country, but we do not need an enemy image for this,” Kuyat concluded.
Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Russia was going through a difficult period in the Russian history. He emphasised that in the emerging conditions of the new global reality, “someone is seeking” to maintain its fading hegemony through Russia.
