NATO’s New Defense Plan Includes Strikes Deep Into Russia

NATO is developing defense plans that envision strikes deep inside Russia if Moscow attacks alliance territory, targeting the bases, supply networks, and industrial facilities supporting an invasion.The approach, developed under NATO’s supreme allied commander in Europe, U.S. Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, reflects lessons from Russia’s war against Ukraine: Stopping advancing troops requires disrupting the military system behind them, according to The Wall Street Journal.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official.For decades, European defense planning focused on preventing Soviet or Russian forces from advancing after crossing NATO borders. Alliance strategists now consider that approach insufficient.Polish Maj. Gen. Ireneusz Nowak told the Journal that defense also requires the ability to strike back.In the event of a conflict with Russia, we would certainly want to strike its military-industrial base, he said, describing precision strikes deep inside Russian territory as a means of deterrence.Nowak argued that if Ukraine had possessed that capability at the outset of the invasion, the war would not have developed into positional fighting resembling World War I.The plans envision attacks roughly 150 kilometers (93 miles) to thousands of kilometers behind the front line, using precision missiles and less expensive weapons such as drones, the Journal reported.Potential targets extend beyond airfields and military bases to industrial facilities, critical infrastructure, and raw material resources supporting Russia’s war effort. The aim is to make such strikes an automatic component of NATO’s response to a Russian attack. Other Topics of Interest ‘Thinking Outside the Box’ – Ukraine’s Use of Battlefield Drones Ukraine is increasingly using battlefield drones for a variety of innovative tasks designed to reduce the risk to its troops. Grynkewich outlined the approach at a recent security conference in Warsaw as part of what he called his “theory of victory.”NATO forces would first stop the opening wave of an attack, then undermine the enemy’s ability to sustain subsequent operations. If the offensive continued, the alliance would strike both attacking forces and the networks supplying, supporting, and directing them.The strategy does not envision escalation to nuclear weapons. NATO also held its first symposium devoted to deep strikes in June.Precision weapons are central to the approach, including established systems such as Tomahawk cruise missiles and ATACMS ballistic missiles, alongside weapons still under development.European countries are seeking to expand stocks of Storm Shadow, SCALP, and Taurus cruise missiles while developing additional systems.Fabian Hoffmann, a senior research fellow at the Norwegian Institute for Defense Studies, told the newspaper that 20 European manufacturers were pursuing at least 48 projects to develop inexpensive cruise missiles, though not all would succeed.Ukraine has increasingly pursued a similar approach, striking military and economic targets inside Russia with longer-range weapons, including domestically developed Flamingo cruise missiles, according to the report.Analysts cautioned that military planning alone would not guarantee political approval to carry out the strikes.Nico Lange, a former senior German Defense Ministry official, told the Journal that a gap remained between military plans incorporating offensive action to defend against Russia and political views that equate defense primarily with barriers or a “drone wall.”The unresolved question, according to the report, is whether European leaders would authorize the operations their military planners consider necessary to stop and defeat an attack. Kyiv Post is Ukraine’s first and oldest English news organization, reporting since 1995. Its international reach – 90% of readers are outside of Ukraine – make it truly Ukraine’s global voice.