Danish intelligence warns of potential military conflict between Russia, Europe within 5 years

By Ebad Ahmed

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AA) – Denmark’s Defense Intelligence Service (FE) warned Tuesday that Europe could face a large-scale war with Russia within five years if the war in Ukraine ends or freezes and NATO fails to rearm simultaneously, Denmark's state news media reported.

“Russia has already managed to upgrade its capacity to both modernize military equipment and has also significantly increased its military production. Russia can already today free up resources for its rearmament vis-a-vis NATO, not least because of the financial and material support the country receives from outside,” DR quoted the intelligence report as saying.

The DR report said the FE assessed that there is currently no threat of a “regular military attack” on Denmark, but it also noted that Russia is the largest military power in the region and Russian President Vladimir Putin would rather not get rid of that title.

“Russia wants control over the sea areas north of its mainland. It is possible that Russia wants control all the way up to the North Pole. Russia's maritime doctrine from 2022 opens up the possibility of using all means to defend Russia's interests north of the country, including military force,” said the FE.

According to the FE, however, the threat of a “regular military attack” against Greenland and the Faroe Islands differs from the threat against Denmark because Russia sees the two countries in a North American context.

"This means that Russia will not necessarily involve Greenland and the Faroe Islands in a European conflict and that the country's strategic interest in the area is more linked to its relationship with the United States than with Europe," the FE said in the assessment.

As a result, Russia is less willing to militarily interfere with the US than with several European countries at once because it "would have far greater consequences."