NATO countries, including the United States, could face a serious shortage of military resources if they were forced to respond to simultaneous attacks involving Russia and China, according to an analysis published by The Atlantic.

The authors argue that Western military planners are not seriously preparing for such a scenario and do not treat a two-front conflict as a fully developed contingency.

The publication recalled that roughly a year ago, General Alexus Grinkevich, NATO’s supreme commander in Europe, publicly warned about the risk of a two-front war involving Russia and China and called on European allies to support the United States. Experts and strategists questioned afterward gave what The Atlantic described as largely unconvincing responses. Most acknowledged that they did not know how such a crisis should be handled and said the threat had not been studied sufficiently.

According to the article, Western military circles tend to avoid detailed discussion of the most difficult scenario, while specific plans for simultaneous crises in Europe and Asia have not been worked out.

The authors also suggest that conflicts in the two regions could begin almost at the same time.

As a hypothetical example, The Atlantic considers a situation in which Russia attacks a NATO country in Eastern Europe while China launches an offensive against Taiwan.

Under those circumstances, the US military would have to divide its forces between two theaters of operations. If a conflict in the Middle East were continuing at the same time, American forces could be stretched across three separate directions.

The Atlantic argues that if Russia and China acted in coordination while disagreements persisted between the United States and its allies, the prospects of a Western victory in a two-front war would be uncertain. The authors maintain that success generally favors the side that retains unity and a shared sense of purpose.

Russian officials have repeatedly rejected claims that Moscow could attack Western countries. President Vladimir Putin has described such suggestions as unfounded and said Russia has no intention of attacking other states.