The German government has prepared a model for a potential Russian attack on NATO, Bild has claimed. According to the tabloid, authorities in Berlin have described four distinct phases, culminating in potential nuclear strikes on NATO member states.
In an article on Wednesday, Bild claimed to have obtained a 13-page risk analysis for civil defense supposedly prepared for the German parliament.
Germany would be among the top targets in the event of a Russian attack on NATO, according to the newspaper, with officials allegedly deeming such a risk “plausible.”
The first phase of a strike by Moscow would purportedly involve a disinformation campaign aimed at dividing the German population and destabilizing society. In addition, Russia would supposedly conduct cyberattacks on critical infrastructure.
According to Bild, the Kremlin would then deploy troops to the border with NATO – a move mirrored by the US-led military bloc. Cyberattacks and sabotage on German soil would take place in parallel to this, with satellites also targeted, it claimed.
Phase three would entail “selective attacks with conventional weapons and non-conventional means, also on targets on the territory of Germany,” the media outlet alleged.
The peak of the hypothetical Russian invasion would see “hostilities on land, at sea as well as in the air on German territory,” with the conflict taking on a global scale, it was predicted.
The article further alleged that the German government has not ruled out the use of chemical and nuclear weapons by Russia.
The claims follow a Bild report last month in which it described a month-by-month outline of a possible “path to conflict” between NATO and Russia, alleging that Moscow could launch an “open attack” in 2025.
Commenting on the report at the time, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov stated that Bild “doesn’t shy away from publishing various hoaxes.”
In recent months, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has on several occasions predicted that Russia could attack NATO in five to eight years’ time.
In January, Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom called on his compatriots to prepare for a potential military confrontation between NATO and Russia. Elsewhere, UK Defense Secretary Grant Shapps has also predicted a global conflict between the West and Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea within five years.
Russian President Vladimir Putin insisted in December that Moscow “has no interest… geopolitically, economically or militarily... in waging war against NATO.”