JRL NEWSWATCH: “NATO Has Been Underestimating Russia’s War Machine, Estonia Says” – Bloomberg
“Kremlin nowhere near breaking point, military chief says. Moscow can produce several million shells, recruit thousands.”
“… Martin Herem, … commander of the Estonian Defense Forces, said predictions that Russian forces would reach the limits of their resources haven’t come true. … [indicating that] Putin’s military has the capacity to produce several million artillery shells a year, far outstripping European efforts, and can recruit hundreds of thousands of new troops …. [Herem] joins a growing number of [NATO] military chiefs who have warned over the past month that the alliance should prepare for a war footing with the Kremlin. …”
Reportedly Estonian intelligence thinks Russia needs three to five years to rebuild its military machine sufficiently to threaten NATO, but factors such as Russian geographic proximity to the Baltics and the intensity of Kremlin rhetoric have further intensified concerns over military preparedness.