NATO allies should shift to “war economy” - military committee chief

In the wake of Russia’s unprovoked aggression toward Ukraine, NATO member states should move to the “war economy” in peacetime.

That’s according to Dutch Admiral Rob Bauer, Chairman of NATO's Military Committee, who spoke with RTP, Ukrinform reports citing MSN.

"We have to increase defense industry production and there are already more and more talks on the subject at the national level. This could mean prioritizing certain raw materials, certain production capacities needed for the defense industry rather than the civilian one. Those priorities should be discussed about, partially, a war economy in peacetime," Bauer said.

In the last 25 years or so, the global economy has been operating on the principle of "now and then", but the significant war-related material and technical losses have exposed how weak this approach is, according to the official.

"Both sides spend a lot of ammunition and destructive material: battle tanks and aircraft. Both sides need to buy a lot of raw materials and ammunition to keep fighting. The problem for both is that the Western and Russian defense industry must increase their production," Bauer argued.

Stockpiles of arsenals "are usually not needed, but as soon as they are needed, it's crazy," he noted.

A change in public mentality will be required to achieve this transition, an extreme that he has described as "difficult".

"We have to make sure that the Russians don't win the war in Ukraine. If they do we will have a much bigger problem in terms of money and defense: the Russians will be on our borders," the senior official has warned.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, the Ukrainian defense forces eliminated about 126,160 Russian invaders from February 24, 2022, to January 29, 2023, including 650 soldiers in the last day alone.

Moreover, Ukrainian defenders destroyed 3,197 enemy tanks (+8), 6,366 armored combat vehicles (+22), 2,195 artillery systems (+7), 453 MLR systems, 221 air defense systems, 293 warplanes, 284 helicopters, 1,947 tactical unmanned aerial vehicles, 796 cruise missiles, 18 warships/cutters, 5,037 trucks and fuel tankers (+10), and 199 units of specialized equipment.