NATO says will do ‘anything and everything’ if alliance is attacked

NATO commander issues warning as European officials suggest potential Russian attacks.

US General Alexus Grynkewich, NATO's top military commander, speaks during the opening session of the Warsaw Security Forum in Poland, October 12, 2026 [Wojtek Radwanski/AFP]

NATO’s top commander has warned that his forces would destroy “anything and everything” if someone was “foolish enough” to attack the alliance, as European concerns have mounted over a potential Russian attack on its territory amid the war in Ukraine.

“We will block the initial attack. If the attack persists, we will blunt it and prevent any enemy advance. And if required, we will break the enemy’s forces and the operational war-fighting system arrayed against us,” US Air Force General Alexus Grynkewich told the Warsaw Security Forum on Monday, without mentioning Russia by name.

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Grynkewich stressed that NATO is a defensive alliance and that he does not believe that a conflict is imminent or inevitable. The most effective way to preserve peace is to prepare for war and to maintain open lines of communication to “resolve misunderstandings”, he added.

European governments have accused Moscow of stepping up a campaign of sabotage, drone incursions and cyberattacks against them, while Russia warned last month it could use nuclear weapons if NATO attempted to cut off its Baltic Kaliningrad exclave where it has a major military outpost.

NATO’s 10-year strategy, created in 2022, described Russia as the alliance’s most significant security threat.

“We will, in short, ensure any attack, against any ally, proves utterly futile,” Grynkewich said.

US General Alexus Grynkewich, NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Europe, speaks during the opening session of the Warsaw Security Forum in Warsaw, Poland on October 12, 2026 [Wojtek Radwanski/AFP]

Attacking anything that ‘supports, sustains and controls that force’

Grynkewich added that NATO’s response would not be limited to forces involved in an initial attack.

“Should the adversary choose to press the attack or commit his reserves, we will break the warfighting system engaged against us,” he said.

“This includes not just the attacking force itself, but anything and everything that supports, sustains and controls that force.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin said this month that Russia had no plans to attack any European country and wanted to coexist peacefully. Such declarations have not reassured European leaders, who cite similar statements by Russia before its 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Moscow has also repeatedly denied involvement in sabotage and other hybrid operations.

Latvian, German, Spain, Canadian and NATO flags at Lielvarde Air Base, Latvia [File:Toms Kalnins/EPA]

Grynkewich said he had decided to talk publicly about NATO’s plans because recent acts of sabotage and arson had made people around the alliance nervous.

“What I want to do is assure the one billion citizens of our alliance that we’ve got this. We know what we need to do. We know how we would do it,” he said.

Grynkewich sought to downplay concerns about Washington’s commitment to the alliance , citing President Donald Trump’s reception at a NATO summit in Ankara in July.

“I was in the room and I felt the love,” he said.

北约指挥官发出警告，此前欧洲官员暗示俄罗斯可能发动袭击。

2026年10月12日，北约最高军事指挥官、美国将军阿莱克苏斯·格林克维奇在波兰华沙安全论坛开幕式上发表讲话。[Wojtek Radwanski/AFP]

北约最高指挥官警告说，如果有人“愚蠢到”攻击北约，他的部队将摧毁“一切”，因为在乌克兰战争期间，欧洲越来越担心俄罗斯可能对其领土发动攻击。

“我们将阻止最初的攻击。如果攻击持续下去，我们将削弱其威力，阻止敌人的任何推进。如有必要，我们将摧毁敌军及其针对我们的作战体系，”美国空军上将阿莱克西斯·格林克维奇周一在华沙安全论坛上表示，但他没有直接提及俄罗斯的名字。

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格林克维奇强调，北约是一个防御性联盟，他不认为冲突迫在眉睫或不可避免。他补充说，维护和平最有效的方法是做好战争准备，并保持畅通的沟通渠道以“消除误解”。

欧洲各国政府指责莫斯科加大了对它们的破坏、无人机入侵和网络攻击力度，而俄罗斯上个月警告说，如果北约试图切断其位于波罗的海的加里宁格勒飞地（俄罗斯在那里设有一个重要的军事前哨），俄罗斯可能会使用核武器。

北约于 2022 年制定的 10 年战略将俄罗斯描述为该联盟面临的最重大安全威胁。

格林克维奇说：“简而言之，我们将确保任何针对任何盟友的攻击都彻底徒劳无功。”

2026年10月12日，北约欧洲盟军最高司令、美国将军阿莱克苏斯·格林克维奇在波兰华沙举行的华沙安全论坛开幕式上发表讲话。[Wojtek Radwanski/AFP]

攻击任何“支持、维持和控制该力量”的事物

格林克维奇补充说，北约的回应不会仅限于参与最初攻击的部队。

他说：“如果敌方选择继续进攻或投入预备队，我们将摧毁与我们作战的体系。”

“这不仅包括进攻部队本身，还包括支持、维持和控制这支部队的一切。”

俄罗斯总统普京本月表示，俄罗斯没有攻击任何欧洲国家的计划，并希望与欧洲国家和平共处。但此类声明并未让欧洲领导人感到安心，他们指出，俄罗斯在2022年全面入侵乌克兰之前也曾发表过类似的声明。

莫斯科方面也一再否认参与破坏活动和其他混合行动。

拉脱维亚利耶尔瓦尔德空军基地的拉脱维亚国旗、德国国旗、西班牙国旗、加拿大国旗和北约国旗 [图片：Toms Kalnins/EPA]

格林克维奇表示，他决定公开谈论北约的计划，是因为最近发生的破坏和纵火事件让联盟周围的人们感到紧张。

“我想向我们联盟的十亿公民保证，我们能做到。我们知道我们需要做什么，也知道该怎么做，”他说。

格林克维奇试图淡化人们对华盛顿对联盟的承诺的担忧，并援引了唐纳德·特朗普总统在7月安卡拉举行的北约峰会上受到的接待。

“我当时就在房间里，我感受到了那份爱，”他说。