Europe's Preparation for World War III

Afghan Voice Agency (AVA): In an article referring to the urgent efforts of European countries to increase military capabilities, the British media reported that the British government has done little in this regard and is not ready for war with Russia.

According to the Independent, in Poland, Finland and the Baltic countries, bulldozers and excavators are rapidly building defensive fortifications, including digging anti-tank ditches and creating concrete trenches. These countries are also considering planting anti-personnel mines.

In addition, Poland has allocated 2.5 billion euros to strengthen its border defense system, including for the construction of an air defense system similar to the "Iron Dome" that is supposed to protect the country's eastern borders from possible Russian attacks.

“It is necessary to create an Iron Dome to counter missiles and drones,” Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said at a meeting of European leaders in Warsaw in May, stating that Europe was in a dangerous situation. “There is no reason why Europe should not have a missile defense system.”

The Polish government plans to use physical anti-tank barriers, shelters and artificial intelligence-based anti-drone systems to achieve early threat detection.

According to the report, Poland currently spends 37 billion euros, or 4.7 percent of its gross domestic product, on defense. The Baltic states have also allocated hundreds of millions of euros to strengthen their defenses to prepare for combined warfare tactics, and Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania have a major defense project underway that will begin in 2025.

In many parts of northern Europe, more than a billion euros have been allocated to the rapid construction of new munitions factories, especially for the production of 155 mm artillery shells, at a pace not seen since World War II.

The British media, noting that European leaders believe that Russia will expand its attacks to the Baltic states, Finland or even Poland, cited statements by some experts who believe that this will happen in the next 3 to 5 years. This is while, at a minimum, it takes 28 to 30 months to produce a fighter jet, 18 to 24 months to produce a tank and up to 30 months to build a frigate.

In addition to these urgent measures in Europe, countries of the Green Continent are also increasing their military budgets. France has increased its defense budget in the past 8 years and is expected to overtake Britain by 2027. In addition, the Netherlands, which had been on a downward trend in its defense budget for decades, has reversed this trend in the past two years and plans to double its defense budget within five years. Sweden, Norway and Denmark are also increasing their defense budgets.

Even Germany, the first country to rapidly reduce its defense budget after the Cold War, doubled its military budget after the annexation of the Crimean peninsula in 2014. With the outbreak of the Ukraine war, defense spending in Germany has passed a turning point, and Chancellor Olaf Schulz has pledged to urgently invest 100 billion euros to address defense deficiencies.

Since February 2022, Berlin has spent about 30 to 40 billion euros on the purchase of American F-35 fighter jets and more than 60 billion euros on increasing its ammunition and missiles.

The Independent newspaper criticized the British government's inaction in increasing its defense budget, pointing to the increase in defense budgets among a large part of European countries.

The British media attributed London's relative peace of mind in this regard to the security umbrella of NATO members, noting that in order to reach Britain, Russia must first pass through the Baltic countries and Finland, cross the Baltic Sea, face Germany, Sweden, Denmark, and Norway, and then cross the North Sea.

Former British Defense Secretary Grant Shapps had previously said in response to a question about the threat of a missile attack on Britain that NATO countries were positioned between Russia and Britain and would repel such threats.

The Independent, pointing out that Britain is defenseless against many types of modern attacks, referred to the statements of British Army Chief of Staff Tony Radakin, who recently emphasized at a defense conference the need to follow the Nordic and Baltic countries in strengthening defense power and civil preparedness.

According to the report, the British Navy cannot deploy even a single aircraft carrier group in a region without relying on US ships and aircraft. The British Army cannot even field a 15,000-strong division of its 70,000-strong force, and its ammunition is only enough for a month of war. On the other hand, only 20 of the 100-strong British Typhoon fighter jet fleet are operationally ready.

The report states that if a NATO member invokes Article 5 of this military alliance, the British government will not be able to provide military support, and at that time the government of this country cannot present economic restrictions as a valid reason for this inability.

At the end of the report, noting that the NATO alliance is based on the principle of “an attack on one is an attack on all”, it is emphasized that Britain is severely deficient in defense compared to its European neighbors.