Republican Donald Trump, who has criticized NATO on more than one occasion in the past, promised to end the war in Ukraine “within 24 hours,” which set off alarm bells in the international community, even more so after it was raised. as one of the premises of its peace agreement the non-introduction of Ukraine into the alliance. Furthermore, the Republican’s words earlier this year that he would allow Russia to do “whatever it wants” with NATO powers that do not fulfill their defense responsibilities did not help either.
At the same time, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte denounced that Putin’s country is carrying out an “increasingly intense campaign of hybrid attacks in our allied territories, directly interfering in our democracies, sabotaging industry and committing acts of violence”. “This shows that the front of this war is no longer focused solely on Ukraine, but is increasingly moving to other countries, to the Baltic region, to Western Europe and even to the Far North,” he added.
In response to the Russian leader’s constant threats on NATO’s eastern flank, the alliance has tried by all means to stay united, delivering weapons to kyiv and reinforcing the borders of this area. In addition, international sanctions have also been imposed against Putin’s country and against various Russian personalities who have violated, among other things, several provisions in the context of human rights.
The power of NATO
The NATO group was created in 1949 with the intention of confronting a Soviet threat and is made up of a mutual assistance clause. Likewise, Article 5 of the NATO North Atlantic Treaty states that any attack carried out against an ally will be treated as an attack on all Member States.
In fact, the alliance requires its members to spend at least 2% of GDP on defense, although less than a third of them comply with this measure. The United States alone spends almost as much on defense as the next 10 countries combined.
In recent years, the alliance has gained the entry of two more countries, Finland and Sweden, whose importance lies not so much in defense investment, but rather in its geostrategic role, due to its location.
The power of Russia
Russia, for its part, has considerable military capacity. Proof of this is found in its defense spending, being the third country in the world that spends the most money on this matter. Regarding the number of troops it has, according to Statesmanhas 1.32 million active military personnel and 4,814 military aircraft, while NATO, as a whole, has 22,308 aircraft.
In terms of nuclear capabilities, the NATO powers that have nuclear arsenals (the United Kingdom, the United States and France) can deploy 5,759 nuclear warheads, slightly less than Russia, which has 5,889 warheads.
Although both sides have similar capabilities, “signs of Russian vulnerability offer no reason for Western complacency,” as highlighted in a research paper shared by the policy institute Chatham House, adding that the war in Ukraine “has shown that it can absorb losses and maintain tactical and operational credibility despite strategic failures.”
