Russia ‘is a threat to Europe and beyond’, according to US Marine Corps General Joe Dunford at a NATO event in Brussels.

A resurgent Russia is the greatest threat on the continent, and the alliance is putting in place capabilities to deter the Eastern neighbor, Dunford said.

Russia has modernised many aspects of its military, including redesigning and modernising its nuclear capability, modernising its maritime capabilities, developing new cyber and electronic warfare capabilities and fielding anti-space capabilities. The alliance has been on the path to addressing the Russian modernisation program, he added.

And Russia will use its capabilities, he noted. “You’ve got to look at behaviour, so you’ve got to go back and look at Georgia and look at Ukraine,” Dunford said.

“When we think about Russia, we think about their actions over the past few years, and then when we look at the last decade of investments the Russians have made. There is not a single aspect of the Russian armed forces that has not received some degree of modernisation over the past decade.” All this, he added, informs his assessment of Russia.

“I would say that none of us are comfortable with where we are,” Dunford said. “If you are complacent in this business, you are obsolete. So you need to stay focused.”