Potential Russian attack on Baltic states looms in near future - international expert

He shared his opinions on Espreso TV.

"The resources are there, Europe has plenty of money. First of all, our (Ukrainian - ed.) defense sector has made huge progress—45% of all weapons on the front are produced in Ukraine, and the Ukrainian defense industry can produce nearly twice as much weaponry as it currently does. The only issue is a lack of financing. With around $30 billion, Ukraine's defense industry could produce more. Ukraine, as a state, can procure $14 billion worth of weapons from our own defense sector. So, with the resources we have, we can produce twice as much weaponry if Europe increases its funding. The same applies to many European defense companies. They might not have the same potential for rapid scaling, but they can still do it. The first step is to strengthen economic support for Ukraine so we can scale up production. The second step is to increase their own production," said Maksym Nesvitailov.

Maksym Nesvitailov believes that the prospect of a Russian attack on, for example, the Baltic countries, could happen in the next six months, so Europe needs to buy time by strengthening Ukraine.

"Now Europe needs to support Ukraine much more strongly to buy time for itself and then use that time wisely to prepare because the prospect of an attack on the Baltic countries is a possibility in the next six months. Russia is currently assessing the situation. They understand that, as Nietzsche said, 'God is dead,' but here it's more like NATO is dead. The sacred belief in Article 5 is fading every day. Basically, the belief that NATO is something more than the United Nations, that there are some real mechanisms here. Everyone thought that Article 5 was very vaguely written, but politically, fundamentally, conceptually there is something else, but it turns out that there is no solution. So Europe, I think, understands the whole situation, at least the key players in Europe. And again, Germany's actions are a clear example, with the constitutional change and the serious adjustment of Friedrich Merz. If we’re talking about the Germans, it seems to me that Taurus missiles will be delivered, and this will be one of the first signals that Europe is gradually shifting, if not to military rails, then very close to that," noted the expert.

• On March 20, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced that Germany plans to increase its military aid to Ukraine to €7 billion.
• On March 26, Reuters reported that Europe is considering alternatives to sending peacekeeping forces to Ukraine, including due to potential logistical constraints.
• On March 26, Poland announced the establishment of the first Defense and Security Fund in Europe and its intention to develop an investment plan for it within two months.