The newly appointed Supreme Allied Commander Europe says he is moving “as quickly as possible” on sending new weapons to Ukraine as ordered by President Donald Trump, and warns preparations must be made for Russia supporting China in the feared future invasion of Taiwan.
General Alexus Grynkewich, now two months in post at the head of Allied Command Operations told the Landeuro defence conference in Wiesbaden, Germany on Thursday that President Trump’s announcement earlier this week that new weapons would be rushed to Ukraine was being fulfilled.
While he cited security concerns on putting out any specifics on numbers, General Grynkewich — a “proud American with a proud European heritage” — said work is “under way”.
He told the forum: “We’re working very closely with the Germans on the Patriot transfer, and the guidance that I’ve been given has been to move out as quickly as possible.
“So we’re doing that. And then we’re also looking at other capabilities and what those needs are, and working on proposals for our political leadership… We’re going to move as quickly as we can on this.”
European states like the United Kingdom, France, and Germany have recently been planning for keeping the peace in a post-war Ukraine-Russia borderland, eyeing the potential for a forthcoming deal now President Trump has announced a 50-day deadline to stop fighting. General Grynkewich said that while NATO sought a peaceful resolution, nevertheless Europe and the alliance should be aware Russia would rebuild its strength and continue to pose a threat.
He said: “Russian capabilities that are there will reconstitute and just by their very existence will be something that we’ll have to think of from the military perspective, and understand how it threatens the Alliance and the freedoms that we hold dear. Russia will undoubtedly, in my mind, remain an enduring threat.”
Of evident concern is Russia being later called to pay back the favours done to it by China through the course of the conflict, with international observers noting the flow of weapons and drones components to Russia from China. General Grynkewich said China could be ready to “make his move” against Taiwan in 2027 and would call on Russia to support it when it does.
“Time is of the essence”, he said, because “the thing [Chinese President] Xi is probably going to do before he decides to go across the Taiwan Strait is give his friend Putin a call and ask him to help.
“That, to me, means that both of these things could happen together, but we’re going to need every bit of kit and equipment and munitions that we can in order to meet that.”
In a call against mental siloing, the General said: “Each of these threats that are out there cannot be viewed, in my estimation, as discrete challenges. We’ve got to think about how all of them are aligning”.
The remarks reflect pessimistic takes on the prospects for peace from NATO states including the United Kingdom, whose then-Conservative government warned last year the west faced fighting simultaneous wars against “Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea” within five years. Several other members including Germany and Poland are working on war plans assuming a major European war this decade, while the head of NATO himself, Secretary General Mark Rutte, stated earlier this year “the world we thought we were entering in after Berlin Wall came down is definitely gone”.
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