“Don’t underestimate Russia”
Norway’s army is preparing for an emergency
January 29, 2024, 1:03 a.m
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Norway is one of the founding members of NATO. The country is specifically preparing its army for a future Russian threat. Commander-in-Chief Kristofferson estimates that there is still three years to go. Moscow’s air and naval forces in particular are a danger.
Norway’s army is preparing for a threat from Russia on the Norwegian border. “Russia has not increased the number of its tanks because it has sent most of them to Ukraine. But we expect that it will start modernizing and rebuilding its army as soon as the fighting stops,” said Commander-in-Chief Eirik Kristoffersen in an interview with the editorial network Germany (RND). “Today I would say that it will probably take three years to replace the lost forces and rebuild the army. We have to prepare for this situation and be prepared for an emergency.”
“If the threat of an attack on Norway were imminent now, we would not be able to deliver so many weapons to Ukraine. But at the moment the threat of an attack on Norway is not acute. But we don’t have much time left, I would like to emphasize that,” Kristoffersen said. “We now see that Russian arms production is stronger than we thought last year,” said the military man. “Even though Russia has lost a lot of military equipment in Ukraine, it still has a lot here in the north. We must not underestimate Russia,” warned the army chief.
Referring to Russian movements near the Norwegian border, he said: “The Russians are currently training many new conscripts and are only securing their bases with a minimum of forces. The land forces on the Kola Peninsula are concentrating on training new troops for Ukraine, who are supposed to replace other Russians there.” In contrast, the Russian air and naval forces are in very good condition. “The Russians have barely lost aircraft and submarines in Ukraine, so they still have a significant number stationed around us.”