NATO Admiral Bauer: We must strike Russia first

NATO is discussing high-precision preventive strikes against Russia in the event of a military conflict between Russia and NATO, Chair of the NATO Military Committee, Admiral Rob Bauer said, RIA Novosti reports.

According to Bauer, the alliance has changed its approach to defense strategy.

"It is wiser not to wait, but to hit launchers in Russia if Russia attacks us," he stated, noting that NATO members should invest more in air defense and high-precision strike systems.

Bauer pointed out that the alliance needs a combination of high-precision strikes that disable attack systems.

"And we must strike first," he concluded.

Bauer earlier said that the heads of major Western companies should be prepared for a military production scenario. He urged enterprises to adjust their production and distribution lines accordingly, to be less vulnerable to blackmail from countries such as Russia and China.

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Robert Peter Bauer (born 11 November 1962) is a Dutch military officer of the Royal Netherlands Navy who has been serving as Chair of the NATO Military Committee since June 2021, succeeding Air Chief Marshal Sir Stuart Peach of the Royal Air Force of the United Kingdom. He previously served as the Chief of Defence (Dutch: Commandant der Strijdkrachten) from October 2017 to April 2021, and as the Vice Chief of Defence of the Netherlands of the from 1 September 2015 to 13 July 2017. Bauer was also involved in counter-terrorist and anti-piracy operations in the Mediterranean Sea, and in the Horn of Africa.