The German Defense Ministry has highlighted a World War 3 scenario in the coming months instigated by Russian President Vladimir Putin. The leaked documents have given a brief account of how the conflicts might transpire due to NATO's lack of unity and Russia could turn it into a World War 3.
The Russia-Ukraine war has boiled down for almost a year now as the global focus has shifted toward the Israel-Hamas war. However, the threat of Russian offense is not out of the equation according to leaked documents from the German Defense Ministry. The files accessed by BILD suggest that Germany is expecting World War 3 anytime now initiated by Russia's Vladimir Putin.
It highlighted various scenarios of conflict from the Russian side. One of them is Alliance Defence 2025 which could get underway in February next year with Russia gathering 200,000 forces near the Ukraine and Poland border. Moscow is likely waiting for a decrease in funding from the West to Ukraine. The Western countries are already facing heat from citizens due to spending on the Ukraine war while the domestic economy is facing a high degree of inflation.
The leaked reports also state that Russia is waiting and regrouping to take advantage of the upcoming US elections later this year. Moscow wants to use that transitionary period to launch a stir in the Suwalki gap area between Belarus and Kaliningrad. For this to happen, Russia could use propaganda warfare first in the Baltic States in July. Cyber attacks and conducting military exercises near the border could be a likely occurrence in the coming months.
The Zapad 2024 exercise is being planned by the Russian military involving around 50,000 soldiers in September at the Russia, Belarus border region. Russia according to the documents is also likely to create a false impulse of attack from NATO to launch an offensive against Ukraine, Poland, and the other Eastern European countries. This scenario could lead to World War 3.
The German Defense Ministry has emphasized the unity aspect of NATO to curb Russian offensives in the coming months. However, the unity aspect of NATO has suffered due to diverging interests of various member countries including France, the UK, U.S. All three have shown diverging interests in recent months involving Russia. The upcoming US election could also dictate NATO's future.