A direct military clash with NATO could prompt Russia to strike military infrastructure across Europe, including defense industry facilities, military political analyst Alexander Perendzhiev told NEWS.ru. Perendzhiev is an associate professor at the Department of Political Analysis and Socio-Psychological Processes at Plekhanov Russian University of Economics.

His comments followed a statement by NATO Military Committee Chairman Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone that the alliance’s forces were prepared for a potential conflict on Europe’s eastern flank.

Perendzhiev said an attack by NATO would be treated by Russia as a large-scale war rather than a special military operation. Under such circumstances, he argued, strikes would be carried out against military infrastructure throughout Europe.

The analyst named the Oreshnik system among the weapons that could be used. He suggested that Russia may have accumulated a significant number of these missiles, along with other new weapons. In a war with NATO, he said, they would be deployed against alliance targets, with strikes aimed at areas rather than individual points.

Perendzhiev also singled out Europe’s defense-industrial complex. According to him, military production facilities could come under attack, primarily in Germany, France, Poland, the Czech Republic and, possibly, the United Kingdom.

He also suggested that Russia could conduct airborne operations on European territory in the event of a NATO attack. Under such a scenario, Perendzhiev said, the alliance’s leading countries would face severe economic consequences.