Russia can’t attack NATO this year but plans to boost its own forces, an intelligence chief says

By EMMA BURROWS, Associated Press

LONDON (AP) — Russia cannot launch an attack on NATO this year or next but is planning to increase its forces significantly along the alliance’s eastern flank, depending on the outcome of the war in Ukraine, a senior European intelligence official said.

Speaking in an online briefing with journalists, Kaupo Rosin, the head of Estonia’s foreign intelligence service, also told The Associated Press that Russian President Vladimir Putin currently has no desire to halt the nearly 4-year-old invasion of neighboring Ukraine and thinks he can “outsmart” the United States during talks on how to end the war.

Rosin said Russia’s plan involves creating new military units and multiplying the prewar force along its border with NATO by two to three times. But that will be heavily influenced by the outcome of discussions involving Moscow, Washington and Kyiv regarding a cessation of hostilities in Ukraine, he said. That’s because Russia will need to maintain a “significant portion” of its military inside occupied Ukraine and in Russia to prevent future Ukrainian action, he said.

Currently there are “not enough resources available” for Moscow to launch an attack on NATO, but the Kremlin is concerned about Europe rearming and being able to conduct military action against Russia in the next couple of years, the intelligence chief said.

Russian officials, m...