Head of the Russian General Staff Academy calls to prepare for major war in Europe

This was stated by the head of the General Staff Academy, Colonel General Vladimir Zarudnitsky, in an article for the Military Thought magazine, The Moscow Times reports.

"It is possible that the conflict in Ukraine could escalate into a large-scale war in Europe. The likelihood of our country's deliberate involvement in new military conflicts is significantly increasing," Zarudnitsky wrote.

According to him, the United States and its allies are "trying to maintain their hegemony by all means" and have set themselves the task of inflicting a "strategic defeat" on Russia. The West is also seeking a change of power in the Kremlin to limit the country's sovereignty and destroy its territorial integrity. Therefore, according to the colonel general, even with the end of the war in Ukraine, the "crisis confrontation" between Russia and the West will not end. "The ongoing process of transformation of the existing world order is associated with the growth of contradictions, the resolution of which almost always leads to the use of military force," Zarudnitsky emphasized.

At the same time, against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine, there has not been a major split in the world and a large group of neutral countries has emerged that seek autonomy from the United States and Western powers, the military officer said. However, according to him, "with rare exceptions" these are "short-term" allies of Russia and Moscow needs to take into account their military potential when planning military security measures.

• During his address to the Federal Assembly, Putin said that Russia has no plans to attack Europe, but has weapons that can hit targets on its territory.
• He also noted that rumors about Russia's deployment of nuclear weapons in space are an attempt to draw Russia into negotiations favorable to the United States.