Except for nuclear weapons

NATO countries are militarily superior to Russia

According to a recent study, the NATO states continue to have the upper hand over Russia (symbolic image).

(Bild: AFP)

The NATO states are militarily superior to Russia despite the rearmament under Putin. "Only in terms of nuclear weapons is there parity between the two sides", according to a study commissioned by Greenpeace.

According to the study, NATO countries currently spend around ten times as much money on their armed forces as Russia (1.19 trillion US dollars vs. 127 billion US dollars). Even excluding US spending and taking into account the difference in purchasing power, this overweight remains "For example, NATO countries have 5,406 combat aircraft (including 2073 in Europe), whereas Russia only has 1026," the authors state. Only in terms of strategic bombers does the belligerent country come close to the USA.

Fewer soldiers, technological backlog
There is a tie when it comes to nuclear weapons. The military alliance currently dominates the global arms market with more than 70 percent of total sales. Russia is also technologically behind NATO, which is unlikely to be made up within a decade. According to the study, the defense alliance is also ahead in terms of the number of soldiers under arms and operational readiness.

Limit nuclear weapons
"Instead of continuing to rearm, NATO's existing conventional superiority - while at the same time Russia is potentially prepared for nuclear escalation - should be used as an opportunity to prepare and initiate arms control policy initiatives that create new trust and allow verification of the respective military potentials, at least in Europe," the researchers advise. For example, the NewStart agreement, which limits strategic nuclear weapons, should be saved.

The study was written by peace researcher Christopher Steinmetz and Herbert Wulf, who worked at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), among others.