NATO is drawing up plans to send American troops to the frontlines of Europe in the event of an all-out conflict with Russia, it has been revealed.
New ‘land corridors’ are being carved out to quickly funnel soldiers through central Europe without local bureaucratic impediments, allowing NATO forces to pounce in an instant should Putin‘s devastating war in Ukraine move further west.
The plans are said to include contingencies in case of Russian bombardment, letting troops sweep into the Balkans via corridors in Italy, Greece and Turkey, or towards Russia’s northern border via Scandinavia, officials told The Telegraph.
Tensions have ratcheted up in recent weeks, with Russian President Vladimir Putin openly acknowledging the ‘possibility’ of ‘a full-scale Third World War’ as he threatens ‘fatal consequences‘ for western allies allowing Ukraine use of their weapons on Russian soil.
Ukraine’s challenge in repelling the Russian invasion has moved European leaders to take a harder stance on Moscow as the war rages on into its third year, some now threatening to send troops east and making record investments into defence.
British and American soldiers take part in NATO drills in Poland during Steadfast Defender 2024, on May 17
US troops gather during a joint military exercise in the Philippines on May 6, 2024
A British paratrooper takes part in a live-fire exercise during Exercise Swift Response on May 4
American troops take part in a joint NATO exercise during Steadfast Defender in May 2024
Spanish, German and Dutch soldiers march near helicopters during a NATO exercise in May
U.S. trooper prepares their U.S. Army CH-47 at Paredes Air Station at Pasuquin on May 6, 2024
Zelensky (R) and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg (L) during 2023 talks in Kyiv
File photo. Vladimir Putin has threatened major war with Europe as tensions rise over Ukraine
According to the plans American soldiers would land at one of five ports across Europe, four allowing access to the western Ukrainian border and a fifth reaching the Russian border via Finland.
NATO already had plans in place for US troops to deploy in the Netherlands before moving towards Poland by train in the event of war.
But amid warnings from Norway’s top general that Europe only has two to three years to prepare before Russia could realistically attack the bloc, NATO is said to be exploring possible countermeasures.
The expanded corridors are hoped to offer a failsafe in case logistical or communication lines are severed, shoring up routes to quickly move across Europe should Russia target a member state.
In the event the route through central Europe becomes compromised, allied troops would be able to move through Italy into Slovenia and the Balkans, bypassing the Alps and Switzerland.
The aim of the plans would be to ensure armies could rush through Europe without delays caused by local regulations and checkpoints – as the French government observed difficulty moving tanks through borders en route to Romania.
Greece and Turkey – also both NATO members – could also provide routes through to Romania and towards the southern coast of Ukraine under the plans.
And a fifth route through Norway and Sweden into Finland could allow troops to reach the Russian border in the north since Finland’s accession to the bloc in April last year.Â
NATO leaders agreed last year to prepare 300,000 troops to be kept in a state of high readiness to defend the bloc in case of an attack on a member state – just under half the force Napoleon sent to Russia in his disastrous 1812 campaign.Â
Russia meanwhile continues to amass forces. The Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) thinktank assessed that the Russian military began 2023 with a ‘highly disorganised force in Ukraine’ of around 360,000 troops, rising to 410,000 by the summer.
By the beginning of this year, they reported, there were 470,000 troops in occupied territories.
In December, NATO tested its readiness for war in Europe with joint tabletop exercises involving the UK and allies in the Baltic.Â
The exercises aimed at ‘clarifying roles and responsibilities’, addressing possible challenges of organising various forces around a common offensive.
France also announced plans in March to deploy 37 Leclerc tanks in Romania to ensure readiness, further strengthening an international battalion in the east.
French President Emmanuel Macron has urged NATO unity against a belligerent Russian aggressor, warning ‘the rules of the game has changed’ in a recent speech in Paris.
‘The fact that war has returned to European soil, and that it is being waged by a nuclear-armed power, changes everything,’ he told an audience at the Sorbonne late in April.
Macron warned that Europe is ‘not armed against the risks we face’ abroad and urged his allies on the continent to avoid overreliance on the US for security.
As Putin and his allies continue to labour threats of nuclear Armageddon – and Russia prepares mobile nuclear bunkers for civilians – Macron has appealed to allies to form a ‘European defence initiative’ and commit more to spending on defence.
Only in March, US President Joe Biden said there was no need for the US to send more troops to bolster Poland’s border ahead of a request for more personnel and military equipment.Â
Polish officials, as in France, have refused rule out sending troops to meet Russia as it plans to field the biggest army in Europe by 2035.Â
Warsaw, a historic foe of Moscow, has been warning the west of complacency and rearming since before the invasion, already spending 2.4 per cent of its GDP on defence by 2022 – third after the US and Greece. This rose to around four per cent this year.
A French Leclerc battle tank fires during exercises in Romania on January 25, 2023Â
Lithuanian Army soldiers take part in a Lithuanian-Polish exercise in Lithuania on April 26
A Polish Soldier gets to grips with a British Starstreak SP HVM during the Exercise Polish Dragon NATO Media facility
Russian troops ride atop military vehicles during the Victory Day parade in Moscow on May 9
A Russian Yars intercontinental ballistic missile launcher rolls on Red Square during the parade
Former Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said in November 2022 that Poland must have an army so powerful that ‘it does not have to fight due to its strength alone’, promising it would have ‘the most powerful land forces in Europe’ – a role traditionally held by France.
A year later, the UK announced a £4bn air defence deal with Poland ‘strengthening European security’ by providing Polish forces with enhanced ground-based air defences capable of taking out incoming threats up to 40km away.
Poland has since agreed a 1.5bn euro deal for the supply of Carl Gustaf M4 recoilless rifles and ammunition, capable of taking out combat vehicles including tanks.
Last March, the US also agreed to sell Poland 800 Hellfire missiles ‘and related equipment’ worth $150mn, as well as 116 Abrams tanks at $1.4bn.
Warsaw also allowed the US to establish its first permanent garrison in Poland – a mostly symbolic move the US ambassador said was a sign ‘the United States is committed to Poland and the NATO alliance, and that we are united in the face of Russian aggression’.Â
NATO figures show the UK spent around 2.3 per cent on defence in 2023 – a figure Keir Starmer has promised to raise to 2.5 per cent under a Labour government in line with Tory pledges.
At present, however, Britain maintains its smallest army since the Napoleonic era – with a strength of around 75,000.
Last week, a Russian military expert suggested Russia would be able to knock out Britain’s nuclear deterrent ‘in one day’ in the event of an all-out war.
Dr Yuri Baranchik, Deputy Director of the RUSSTRAT Institute, claimed France would likely prove more of a challenge but would likewise be no match for a Russian attack.Â
Russia has stepped up its rhetoric on the possibility of war as NATO urges wider spending on defence and repeals limits on Ukraine using ally-supplied weapons to fire on Russian targets in Russia.
Asked about the possibility of direct confrontation after securing his fifth term in office in March, Putin said: ‘I think everything is possible in the modern world … it is clear to everyone that this will be one step away from a full-scale Third World War.’
A Russian soldier operates a gun at an undisclosed location in Ukraine, released June 2, 2024
Damaged properties in Vovchansk in the Kharkiv region of Ukraine, released June 2, 2024
Rescuers remove rubble from partially destroyed residential building in Kharkiv after night Russian missile attack on May 31
Ukrainian eacuees arrive by bus at an evacuation point in the Kharkiv region, on May 12
Only last week, Putin warned that western countries would suffer ‘grave consequences’ if they allowed their weapons to be fired from Ukraine into Russia.
‘In Europe, especially in small countries, they should be aware what they are playing with,’ the Russian president said during a visit to Uzbekistan.
‘They should remember that, as countries with small, densely populated territories… They should keep this in mind before talking about striking Russia.’
In December, Putin said to the contrary that Moscow had ‘no interest’ in attacking NATO, dismissing US President Joe Biden’s suggestion that Russia would not stop at Ukraine as ‘nonsense’.
‘Russia has no reason, no interest — no geopolitical interest, neither economic, political nor military — to fight with NATO countries,’ Putin said at the time.Â
Top Norwegian General General Eirik Kristoffersen has suggested Russia would not yet be a position to strike Europe in any case – but likely could build up its capacity within a matter of years.
‘At one point someone said it’ll take 10 years, but I think we’re back to less than 10 years because of the industrial base that is now running in Russia,’ General Kristoffersen said in an interview in Oslo on Monday.
‘It will take some time, which gives us a window now for the next two to three years to rebuild our forces, to rebuild our stocks at the same times as we are supporting Ukraine,’ he added, noting Putin’s public aversion to war with NATO.
Putin has maintained he is open to peace talks, Russian sources telling Reuters last month that the Kremlin is ready to stop the war and recognise current battlefield lines.
Zelenskyy has long maintained that he will not negotiate with Russia directly, but has also urged Western leaders to pressure Russia into peace by ‘all means’ necessary amid fears Kyiv lacks the resources needed to go on repelling the invasion.
Claiming Russia was dropping 3,200 guided bombs on Ukraine each month, with the war now in its third year, he asked reporters: ‘How do you fight that?’