Top NATO Official Calls On Companies To Prepare For Wartime Scenario As US Confirms It Permitted Ukraine To Use ATACMS

The Russian Foreign Ministry addressed the comments by saying, "Apparently, they didn’t finish reading the updated [nuclear] doctrine".

NATO - On November 25th Top NATO military chair, Dutch Admiral Rob Bauer urged companies to prepare for a "wartime scenario" and adjust their production and distribution lines accordingly to limit vulnerability to blackmail from other countries, such as China and Russia, which received an immediate response from the Russian Foreign Ministry.

Credit: Rob Bauer, NATO

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Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova addressed the comments by saying, "Apparently, they didn’t finish reading the updated [nuclear] doctrine". 

The statement comes as the White House released an official statement during today's briefing that it has in fact allowed Ukraine to use U.S.-provided ATACMS to hit targets located within Russian territory.

During the briefing White House National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby was asking, "What’s your assessment on the effectiveness of the use of ATACMS by Ukraine?  In the past, you kind of downplayed potential impact of the ATACMS on the battlefield and warned that allowing Ukraine to strike deep into Russia could lead to escalation by the Kremlin.  How do you see it now?"

He replied, "Right now, they are able to use ATACMS to defend themselves, you know, in an immediate-need basis.  And right now, you know, understandably, that’s taking place in and around Kursk, in the Kursk Oblast.  I’d let the Ukrainians speak to their use of ATACMS and their targeting procedures, and what they’re using them for and how well they’re doing.

But nothing has changed about the — well, obviously we did change the guidance and gave them guidance that they could use them, you know, to strike these particular types of targets."

During an on-camera statement at a European Policy Center think-tank event in Brussels, Belgium, Bauer said, "If we can ensure that all essential services and goods can be delivered regardless of the situation, then that is a key part of our deterrence". 

“We are seeing this with the rise in acts of sabotage, and Europe has seen it in the field of energy supply,” he said adding, “We thought we had a deal with Gazprom, but in fact we had a deal with Mr Putin. The same applies to Chinese-owned infrastructure and goods. In fact, we have a deal with [Chinese President] Xi [Jinping].”

He pointed out that Western countries rely on China for goods, such as ingredients for chemicals, sedatives, antibiotics, blood pressure regulation drugs, and anti-inflammatory medicine, and that China produces and processes 60 to 90 percent of all rare earths.

“Companies must be prepared for a wartime scenario and adjust their production and distribution lines accordingly. Because while the military wins the battles, the economy wins the wars.”

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