NATO’s northern supply lines risk early collapse in a major conflict, according to a new report.
Think tank the Council on Geostrategy warns that logistics operations across Europe will face greater challenges, including the potential for strike and sabotage. This has the potential to cut off resources from the frontlines, leading to military collapse.
Sustainment under Strike and Sabotage: Contested Logistics in the Wider North highlights the risks of delays to reinforcement, attrition of critical assets prior to a conflict, and the potential loss of frontline combat effectiveness. Authors William Freer and Charlotte Kleberg urge NATO to explore
Options for bolstering supply line resilience include better leveraging of commercial capacity and expertise, investing more in hardening primary logistics sites and routes and exploring redundancy, establishing dedicated logistics defences, and baking contested logistics assumptions into exercises.
Shortly after the report was published, the Russian ambassadors in a number of NATO member states were summoned to face criticism of Moscow’s conduct in Ukraine. European Commission chief Ursula Von der Leyen called Russia’s actions a “deliberate strategy” to destabilise Europe. However, with just 17% of Germans believing that their Bundeswehr is now combat-ready, the conclusions of Sustainment under Strike and Sabotage would appear to ring true.
