Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Israeli media platform: The Degel HaTorah party, which has four members in the Knesset, announces its withdrawal from Netanyahu's cabinet.
Local Syrian sources: The raids targeted the road between the village of Al-Mazra'a and the city of Sweida, where forces and factions affiliated with the Syrian Ministry of Defense are advancing.
Local Syrian sources: New raids carried out by Israeli warplanes targeted vehicles and gatherings of military factions affiliated with the new Syrian Ministry of Defense.
Local Syrian sources: Israeli raids target, for the third time, gatherings of Syrian Defense Forces military factions in the southern countryside of Sweida.
The Ministry of Health in Gaza: Gaza Strip hospitals received 120 martyrs and 557 wounded in the past 24 hours.
The Israeli Walla! website: We are running out of stockpiles, our forces are exhausted, and the lives of the captives are in danger. It is time for a ceasefire deal in Gaza.
Several wounded in an Israeli bombardment of a tent in al-Mawasi, south of Khan Younis in the Gaza Strip.
Israeli media: Three wounded, three killed in an ongoing operation in the Gaza Strip.
Al Mayadeen's correspondent in southern Lebanon: Israeli artillery shelling targets the outskirts of the town of Shebaa
Al-Qassam Brigades: The targeting took place at the intersection of 'Street 5' with the western line north of Khan Younis

NATO commander fearmongers about Russia, urges more military spending

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: Agencies
  • 3 Jul 2023 16:33
5 Min Read

The chief of NATO's Military Committee says it is believed Russia will regain its military capabilities within years.

  • x
  • NATO senior chief fearmongers members, asks for more military spending
    Chair of the NATO Military Committee Admiral Rob Bauer addresses a media conference at NATO Headquarters in Brussels, Thursday, January 19, 2023 (AP)

Ukraine's counteroffensive should not be judged based on its pace nor should it be deemed a disappointment considering how difficult it is and the heavy Russian defenses deployed in the country, the head of NATO's Military Committee told reporters on Monday.

"The counteroffensive, it is difficult. People should never think that this is an easy walkover," Admiral Rob Bauer said.

"There's a considerable number of Russians in Ukraine. There are considerable defensive obstacles," he said, in an attempt to downplay the failure to achieve any major advance yet.

Kiev and other Western officials and experts admitted earlier that the operation did not reach the expectations level despite having been hyped for months and the substantial level of military and financial backing offered to Ukraine by its allies.

Read more: Russian troops repel another Ukrainian counteroffensive

"It is not a surprise that it [counteroffensive] is not going fast," Bauer added.

"We should not comment on Ukraine like they should go faster or it's disappointing they're not going fast. It is extremely difficult, this type of operation."

Commanders in the Ukrainian army were right to be "cautious" and look for weaknesses in Russia's defense lines, the admiral claimed, noting that Ukraine's forces would have suffered major losses in case of a full-on offense.

Bauer stressed that NATO believes Russia's army would "bounce back" from the losses it took in Ukraine and would rebuild itself in the next years.

"We will continue to look at them as a serious threat," he said. 

"They might not be 11 feet tall, but they're certainly not two feet tall." 

The Military Committee Chief further claimed that the coalition could take a breathing space as it will take Moscow "a considerable number of years" to regain its pre-war power and capabilities.

But for now, Bauer confirmed that NATO members must continue to support Ukraine through all means necessary.

Related News

Biden's candidacy hinges on performance at upcoming debate, Hersh says

Hersh says US blocked Ukraine-Russia peace talks months ago

"If Ukraine loses that war, and that is not the end of instability. That is the start of more instability," he cautioned. 

The Admiral noted that reinforcing NATO's posture "costs money" and that delays in increasing military spending will slow this process.

He said bulking up NATO's posture "costs money" and has previously warned that delays to boosting military spending could slow that down. 

Read more: For the second time, NATO agrees to extend Stoltenberg mandate

More money

Kiev has been pushing for the approval of its NATO application lately as it considers that it can spearhead the war coalition's efforts to corner Russia. But such a decision requires a unanimous vote, which is currently very far-fetched.

However, Ukraine is betting that it will receive more and accelerated military assistance during the upcoming NATO summit in Lithuania scheduled between 11-13 July.

Western media and officials warned earlier that Kiev's counteroffensive did not meet expectations and that Ukrainian forces are underperforming compared to the Russian army.

Meanwhile, Pulitzer Prize-winning US investigative journalist Seymour Hersh warned last month that Ukraine's counteroffensive would not bring any good to Kiev, the United States, or NATO.

In an interview he gave to George Galloway, Hersh explained how "this [counteroffensive] isn't going to be good for Ukraine, it's not going to be good for NATO, it's certainly not going to be good for the Biden administration."

The journalist explained that the Ukrainian army is comprised of "so many disparate groups," comparable to 15 different dance teams that suddenly are forced to organize a routine together after practicing alone for a very long.

In a more recent report, Hersh said the US should consider Kiev's failure to cross over Russian defense lines as a “wake-up call”.

An informed official told famed journalist Hersh that "it would take [Ukrainian President Volodymyr] Zelensky's military 117 years" to reassert Kiev's power over the lands which Russia now controls; which is approximately a surface area of 40,000 square miles.

The journalist stated that in the two weeks prior, the Ukrainian military had only captured 44 miles of terrain, the majority of which was open country situated before the first of Russia's multilayered defense lines.

Hersh urged US President Joe Biden to finally acknowledge, publicly, that “the estimated more than $150 billion that his administration has put up [to arming Ukraine] thus far turned out to be a very bad investment,” before adding that the “looming disaster in Ukraine… should be a wake-up call” for Washington lawmakers.

  • Seymour Hersh
  • Rob Bauer
  • Russia
  • war in Ukraine
  • NATO summit
  • Kiev
  • Nato Alliance
  • Ukraine

Most Read

Hezbollah SG reveals war details on Al Mayadeen for the first time

Hezbollah SG reveals war details on Al Mayadeen for the first time

  • Politics
  • 8 Jul 2025
Major ambush in Gaza kills 6 Israeli troops, injures dozens

Major ambush in Gaza kills 5 Israeli troops, injures 14

  • Politics
  • 8 Jul 2025
Israeli soldiers are seen in Beit Hanoun ahead of an operation by the al-Qassam Brigades, undated (Al-Qassam Brigades Military Media)

'Israel' on blast as media exposes report discrepancies in Gaza ambush

  • Palestine
  • 8 Jul 2025
Yemen Navy sinks ETERNITY C ship, shares footage of operation

Yemen Navy sinks ETERNITY C ship, shares footage of operation

  • Politics
  • 9 Jul 2025

Coverage

All
The Ummah's Martyrs

Read Next

All
The Freedom Flotilla ship Handala as it departs for Gaza, where it aims to break the maritime blockade at a port in Syracuse, Sicily in southern Italy on July 13, 2025. (AFP)
Palestine

Freedom Flotilla's Handala departs Sicily in bid to break Gaza siege

The container ship CMA CGM Laperouse, left, docks at the Georgia Ports Authority's Port of Savannah, Sept. 29, 2021, in Savannah, Ga (AP)
Politics

US shipbuilding woes deepen as tariffs, outdated policies backfire

Gaza war raises ethical questions for ex-Obama, Biden officials
Politics

Mercenary firm tied to Gaza war crimes hires Obama-Biden PR operatives

'Israel' targets children in Gaza collecting water
Palestine

'Israel' strikes Gaza kids fetching water, blames it on 'malfunction'

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS