The Lithuanian Defense Ministry believes that there will be another Russian military aggression in the future.

Militarnyi informs about this.

Valdemaras Rupšys, Commander of the Lithuanian Armed Forces does not rule out that a strategic defeat in the war against Ukraine will only increase the Russian revanchism, and in the light of that, a new war should be expected in 5-10 years.

European Pravda reports about these assumptions with reference to the Commander’s interview with LRT.

In an interview, Lieutenant General Rupšys mentioned that future military threats would depend on the political forces that would be in power in Russia.

“In my opinion, if Russia does not change, it will remain a threat to us and to NATO. In addition, the threat may be even greater, and the Allies must act primarily to contain it. Russia needs to be refrained from exactly what it has done now when it decided to attack Ukraine,” he said.

According to the Commander of the Lithuanian Armed Forces, Russia’s ability to threaten other countries will depend on many factors, including the impact of the sanctions, but theoretically, in 5 to 10 years it could regain its military capabilities after the heavy losses suffered by their army in Ukraine.

When asked why Russia’s threat could be even greater than it is now, Rupšys shared that after the ongoing war in Ukraine, one should only expect a strengthening of revanchist sentiment.

“Russian revanchism has not gone anywhere. I will not say that Russia has already lost all the battles, but simply because Ukraine has survived – they have already lost the war. The retreat from Kyiv clearly demonstrated the failure of their original intention… I think they now have little hope of defeating the Ukrainian army. When playing sports, the second place is very honorable, but in the war, only the first place is worth the honor,” said the Commander.

According to the Lieutenant-General, Russia’s full-scale open attack on Ukraine has fundamentally changed the security situation in Europe.

NATO is also calculating the possible scenarios for the near future and the long-term perspective, including what and how would happen if Russia dares to launch aggression against a member of the North Atlantic Alliance.

Previously, Lithuania has handed over heavy mortars for the needs of the Ukrainian Defense Forces in the fight against Russian aggression.