Dutch Commander-in-Chief calls on Netherlands to prepare for war with Russia

Lieutenant-General Martin Wijnen, Commander-in-Chief of the Netherlands Army, who will be leaving his post in 2024, says the Netherlands and its society must prepare for a war with the Russian Federation.

Source: Wijnen in an interview for De Telegraaf, as reported by NL Times

Quote: "The Netherlands should be seriously afraid of war, and our society should prepare for it."

Details: Wijnen believes The Hague should follow the example of Sweden, Finland and the Baltic countries, since they border Russia or are close to it, so they are better prepared for an outbreak of war.

"The Netherlands needs to learn that the entire society needs to be prepared for when things go wrong. The Netherlands should not think our safety is guaranteed because we are 1,500 kilometres away [from Russia – ed.]," Wijnen said, adding that civilians should have stocks of food and drinking water for emergencies.

The top general warned that Russia keeps getting stronger, so a strong army is needed as a deterrent.

"There is only one language that Russia understands, and that is one of a strong military," Wijnen stated, stressing the importance of solving the problem of personnel shortage in the Dutch armed forces.

Wijnen said he has great expectations of a one-year voluntary service initiative for young people that was implemented following a similar programme in Sweden. He hopes to attract two to three thousand young people each year, a third of whom are likely to choose a career in the army and another third to become reservists.

Background:

• Moldovan President Maia Sandu has stressed the importance of support for Ukraine against Russia’s full-scale invasion, since Russian aggression may spread to other countries.
• Ukraine's Foreign Ministry is convinced that any concessions to Russia will only lead to an expansion of aggression in the future.
• Earlier, Czech Prime Minister Jan Lipavský stated that the main challenge for Prague is to keep Russia as far as possible from Czechia’s borders.  

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