NATO countries planning expanded “land corridors” to rush more troops to the front lines with Russia
By isabelle // 2024-06-17
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NATO apparently believes there is a reasonable chance that Russia could attack Europe as sources have revealed their complex plan to create “land corridors” that can rush troops to the front lines. This is according to high-ranking British military sources who disclosed details of the plan to the Telegraph. The information comes as top leaders caution that Western governments need to be ready for a potential conflict with Russia within the next two decades. Although strategic routes across Europe have been planned for several decades, the new plans create additional options for funneling troops and equipment east toward Ukraine. The current plans see American soldiers arriving at one of five ports and then moving along predetermined strategically chosen routes to deal with the attack. It is believed to be part of the preparations for 300,000 troops that NATO leaders agreed to during a summit in Lithuania last year. The transport corridors for troops and logistics would start at ports situated in Norway, Turkey, Italy, Greece and the Netherlands, with the port of Rotterdam in particular being cited. The report also refers to lines such as the Germany-Poland railway; this and other railways could facilitate the quick deployment of American forces to any NATO territory that comes under threat. For example, if NATO forces entering via the Netherlands should come under fire by the Russians or ports in the northern part of Europe are destroyed by Russia, the alliance would instead focus on ports further south, such as those in Turkey, Greece and Italy. American troops could make their way from Italian ports over land through Slovenia and Croatia to the Ukrainian border with Hungary. Similarly, forces could make their way from Greek and Turkish ports through Romania and Bulgaria to the eastern flank. While using these corridors, national militaries would not be subjected to local regulations and could therefore transport supplies without these standard restrictions being in effect. This could help avoid situations like a past incident where France complained that some of its tanks were trapped at foreign borders due to bureaucratic processes while they were trying to deploy them in Romania to defend against a potential Russian invasion.

Multiple routes planned to account for Russian attacks on infrastructure

The idea is to have multiple potential routes given that some of the most obvious routes, like those involving northern European ports, are especially vulnerable to attacks by Russian missiles. NATO Jsec Logistics Command Chief Lieutenant General Alexandre Sollfrank said: “Everything is created in a way so the necessary resilience exists – robustness, reserves and also redundancies.” He added: “Observing and assessing the Russian war in Ukraine, we have observed Russia has attacked Ukraine’s logistics bases. That must lead to the conclusion that it is clear that huge logistics bases, as we know it from Afghanistan and Iraq, are no longer possible because they will be attacked and destroyed very early on in a conflict situation.” In March, the same publication reported that Russian President Vladimir Putin had a “paranoid obsession” with provoking western allies. It asserted: "Now that Russian President Vladimir Putin has secured his historic fifth term in office, it is patently clear that he will devote his next six-year spell at the Kremlin to pursuing his paranoid obsession of confronting the West." Center for European Policy Analysis Senior Fellow Jan Kallberg said that although designing these new routes may serve to warn Russia that NATO is taking its war preparations seriously, it could also be a way to pressure NATO countries in Europe to ensure that the infrastructure that makes up the corridors, such as bridges and roads, is in good condition and ready to support such plans should a broader war break out. Sources for this article include: ZeroHedge.com Telegraph.co.uk Newsweek.com
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