Putin has West scrambling as NATO 'already preparing for a conflict' to end war
Russia has been fuelling fears of an upcoming open conflict with the West as Vladimir Putin refuses to call off his invasion of Ukraine.
Russia's ongoing hostile policy in Ukraine has put the West on the warpath as NATO nations are "already preparing for a conflict," according to the President of Serbia.
Aleksandar Vučić, a close ally of Vladimir Putin, warned Europe could soon collapse into a confrontation with Moscow as he lamented the military preparations NATO members have lined up to boost their capacity.
The Atlantic alliance has repeatedly warned Putin's refusal to give up his expansionistic goals increased the chance of resulting in an open conflict.
Member states have been working over the past two years to make their militaries "war ready", with Sweden, Germany and Poland urging their allies to ramp up defence spending.
Vučić, according to reports in the state-run news agency TASS, claimed the appeal has worked and the West is preparing to fight Putin's army.
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The Serbian leader said: "The West would like to conduct warfare from a distance, through someone else, through investing money and so on, but at the moment they are not ready [for a direct conflict with Russia].
"Will they be ready? They are not ready now, but I think they will be ready. They are already preparing for a conflict with the Russian Federation and they are preparing much faster than some people would like to see, in every sense.
"We know that from the military preparations, we know how they're going. And I want to tell you, they are preparing for a military conflict."
However, Vučić earlier claimed Ukraine's Western allies would not directly intervene because "as long as people from the West do not die, or only volunteers die, does not care how many Ukrainians will die."
The already uncertain future of the conflict in Ukraine is now likely to be further exacerbated by the decision of top ally Joe Biden to withdraw from the presidential race.
Any Democratic candidate would likely continue Mr Biden’s legacy of staunch military support for Kyiv.
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But frustration with the Biden administration has grown in Ukraine and Europe over the slow pace of US aid and restrictions on the use of Western weapons.
Sudha David-Wilp, director of the Berlin office of the German Marshall Fund, said: "Most Europeans realise that Ukraine is increasingly going to be their burden. Everyone is trying to get ready for all the possible outcomes.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on X that he respected the “tough but strong decision” by President Biden to drop out of the campaign, and he thanked him for his help “in preventing Putin from occupying our country.”
Donald Trump has promised to end Russia's war on Ukraine in one day if he is elected — a prospect that has raised fears in Ukraine that Russia might be allowed to keep the territory it occupies.
Trump's vice presidential pick, Ohio Senator JD Vance, is among Congress’ most vocal opponents of US aid for Ukraine and has further raised the stakes for Kyiv.
