Overview
- NATO’s top European commander, Alexus Grynkewich, said the alliance is conventionally superior to Russia and has rolled out a formal deterrence concept he calls a “theory of victory.”
- The doctrine sets out three phases — to block, to blunt and to break — meaning NATO would first stop incursions at the border, then weaken attackers with artillery and air strikes, and finally strike the enemy’s rear areas and supply lines if attacks continued.
- Grynkewich used Friday, Oct. 16 reporting to urge faster modernization of specific capabilities, calling for large numbers of one‑way attack drones and cheaper cruise missiles while also highlighting gaps in drone defense.
- He warned that Russia prefers indirect tactics such as sabotage rather than large conventional attacks and pressed for precise naming of hostile acts like arson or terror to enable clear responses, citing the suspected Leipzig airport attack as a crossing of the line.
- Allies have debated the concept for months and NATO now plans more exercises and reinforcements on the eastern flank, a move meant to reassure Baltic and eastern members and to raise pressure for concrete force and munitions investments.