US NATO Mission Shows Off 'Firepower' in Warning to Russia

The U.S. mission to NATO has boasted of a huge array of tanks in a post showing the combined military power of America and Europe in a warning to Russia.

Photos posted to X, formerly Twitter, showed off at least 21 of its latest military combat vehicles lined up with flags from countries including Poland, Italy, Spain, Germany and Great Britain alongside the American national flag.

The post declared it was a "firepower show off" and wrote: "We agreed to the most comprehensive defense plans since the end of the Cold War designed to counter the two main threats to our Alliance: Russia and terrorism."

During a recent summit of the Visegrad Group—composed of Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic—Czech President Petr Pavel was quoted in Russian media as saying European forces were preparing for a "high-intensity conflict" with Moscow. Newsweek has approached the Czech government to confirm the comments.

The Kremlin hit back with a statement from spokesperson Dmitry Peskov that said: "It is not Russia that threatens Europe, but Europe that poses a threat to Russia," according to Russian state media journalist Pavel Zarubin.

Photos of the tank collection released by the U.S. mission to NATO may signal the American and European military alliance's commitment to expanding its power amid the release of a report published by the German Council on Foreign Relations that said the organization must be ready for a major war within five to nine years.

The report said the alliance is in a "race against time" as Russia "represents the greatest and most ­urgent threat to NATO countries," authors Christian Mölling and Torben Schütz said.

It added: "Once intensive fighting will have ended in Ukraine, the regime in Moscow may need as little as six to 10 years to reconstitute its armed forces. Within that timeframe, Germany and NATO must enable their armed forces to deter and, if necessary, fight against Russia. Only then will they be in a position to reduce the risk of another war breaking out in Europe."

Newsweek has approached a spokesperson for NATO via its website's request form to ask about reports of the need to increase its military capabilities over the threat posed by Russia.

Russia was recently accused of deliberately stoking up a migrant crisis on its border with NATO member Finland in a bid to destabilize the military alliance's newest member.

Finnish authorities closed four border crossings with Russia last week after a spike in asylum seekers without paperwork tried to enter the country. The Kremlin denied claims it was a deliberate ploy.

But Mikko Kinnunen, ambassador, strategic communication, at Finland's Ministry for Foreign Affairs, told Newsweek on Thursday: "Everybody clearly understands this is a malicious influencing operation by Russia."

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