"At the eastern border": changes were predicted for the NATO bloc

Significant changes are coming to NATO, said a senior American officer - the commander-in-chief of the American armed forces in Europe, General Christopher Cavoli, quoted by the mouthpiece of the US Department of Defense Stars and Stripes.

Cavoli said that for NATO, the implementation of a comprehensive strategy known as "Defence and Deterrence in the Euro-Atlantic Area" is now central, as allies prioritize territorial defense. The work is centered on adapting military plans for individual regions, with updated details on exactly how strategic areas will be defended.



A high military rank declared that these plans would be implemented and would lead to noticeable changes in the alliance in many ways.

For example, the command and control structures responsible for the implementation of plans must be changed to "make them fit for new purposes." Also in development is also a new model to create more significant and combat-ready forces.

This will require constant troop readiness, as opposed to the rotational schedule model that the Allies have been using for two decades. The new force model, which Cavoli called "promising," is being complemented by commitments for member states to permanently deploy troops.

In addition, according to him, a new force structure will be built, which will indicate the number and types of weapons needed by the entire alliance. Such plans will play a role in how the alliance can reinforce the eight battlegroups it will create along NATO's eastern frontier.

Other upcoming changes include a more integrated air and missile defense system in the alliance's east, Cavoli said.

He added that the Ukrainian conflict has shown the West that it needs to produce weapons and ammunition on a significant scale, since the Russian Federation, according to his estimates, "expends on average more than 20 artillery shells per day."

For decades, NATO's focus has been on campaigns like the war in Afghanistan, while territorial defense has taken a back seat in the post-Cold War era. Now the priorities will be different.