Russia could launch an attack on NATO territory in the coming years. However, it would not be a large-scale invasion of European countries, but rather a limited operation.

Axar.az reports that this stated the President of Germany's Federal Intelligence Agency (BND), Bruno Kahl.

According to him, Russia is preparing for war with the West, and military confrontation "becomes one possible option for the Kremlin".

However, he believes that this would not be a large-scale invasion of European NATO countries, but rather a limited operation - such as an invasion of the Norwegian Arctic island of Svalbard to "mop up the territory" or of the Baltic states under the pretext of protecting Russian minorities.

The head of German intelligence stated that these operations would aim to undermine NATO's collective security commitments under Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty and ultimately dismantle NATO.

According to German intelligence assessments, the Russian leadership doubts "whether the obligation to provide assistance under Article 5 would remain in effect in emergency situations".

"If such views prevail in the Russian leadership, the risk of a military conflict in the coming years will also increase," Kahl said.

He added that Russia will try to divide NATO even before a possible war begins, for instance, by attempting to tempt individual member countries over to its side. According to Kahl, Russian leader Vladimir Putin will test the West's red lines and escalate further.

The head of Germany's intelligence emphasized that by the end of this decade, Russia will have enough resources for a direct military confrontation with Western countries:

"At the same time, the Kremlin is influencing political forces on both the right and left in Germany, with many repeating Moscow's rhetoric naively. This is not only influencing the success of right-wing and left-wing populists in various elections in 2024 but also deepening the fragmentation in Germany's political landscape."