Possible NATO strikes deep inside Russia could trigger a full-scale war across Europe involving nuclear weapons. Yet the alliance’s leadership appears to have little understanding of how dangerous such a confrontation could become. This warning came from retired colonel Mikhail Khodarenok, a military commentator for Gazeta.Ru.

According to Khodarenok, Western political elites have fallen into serious decline, a deterioration that has also affected the military leadership of NATO’s European member states. He believes alliance officials are no longer capable of properly assessing the consequences of their decisions. Attacks on targets deep within Russian territory, he warned, could ignite a major conflict across the European theater, involving weapons of mass destruction, particularly nuclear missiles.

For this reason, Khodarenok dismissed the discussions within NATO as meaningless chatter. In his view, the proposals are not backed by serious operational or strategic calculations, while their potentially devastating consequences are being ignored.

His criticism follows a report by The Wall Street Journal revealing that NATO countries have been considering long-range strikes against targets in Russia’s rear areas since June. The discussions concern a possible military confrontation with Moscow, with military bases, supply depots and defense industry facilities among the potential targets.

However, even military officials remain uncertain whether European political leaders would authorize such operations. Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly stated that Moscow has no intention of attacking NATO member states.