Russia may open front: Chief of Belgium's army calls on Europe to prepare

Belgian Army Commander-in-Chief Michel Hoffmann believes that in the future Russia may open a second front in Europe and attack Moldova or the Baltic States, as it has already put the country's economy on a military footing, VRT News quoted him as saying.

Hoffman urged Europe to prepare and warned of a possible war with Russia, noting Russian dictator Vladimir Putin's aggressive rhetoric and the Kremlin's shift to military lines.

"We see that Russia has switched to a war economy. I think we would be right to be worried. The language used by the Kremlin and by President Vladimir Putin is always ambiguous. It is by no means out of the question that they might open a second front at some time in the future. Either in the south, in Moldova or the Baltic States," said Admiral Hoffman.

In his opinion, such an attack cannot be ruled out "in a few years." Hoffman believes that Russia may be weakened by the war against Ukraine, but it will "eventually regenerate its war machine and rebuild its armed forces."

"They have already shown that they have the will to attack a neighbour. We have to see that we have the capacity to prevent this happening again and show the will that we are prepared to counterattack if necessary," he emphasized.

On December 15, the Moldovan parliament approved a new national security strategy, according to which the main threats to the country are Russia's aggressive policy and internal corruption. The strategy is focused on strengthening ties with the European Union, Romania, the USA and NATO. At the same time, the document emphasizes that Moldova should maintain the neutral status enshrined in the Constitution.

On September 15, 2023, NATO stated that they do not see a military threat to Moldova from Russia, as Ukraine "does a very good job."

On December 19, it became known that Moldova intends to purchase a modern air defense system in order to be able to counter threats from Russia.