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Despite its size and potential, NATO stands ill-prepared for a protracted conflict with Russia, plagued by empty ammunition stores and political division. The launch of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 confronted the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) with a new geopolitical reality. Described as "braindead" by French President Emmanuel Macron only a few years prior, alliance woke up to a threat previously thought to the past full-out conventional land war on European continent. Military officials have since churned out warnings of a resurgent Russian threat to NATO, saying allies must be ready in three, five, or eight years' time.

“The Russian Federation has become a problem for the world order, for democracy. In fact, it is a war of Russia with the democratic world. It is not (just) a war with Ukraine,” Romanian Defense Chief Gheorghita Vlad said in February of this year. This is how North Korean troops could be used in Russia’s war in Ukraine. After decades of fighting insurgents rather than armies, under funded Euro forces still sobering up from post-Cold War "peace dividend years," shadow of Donald Trump's return to White House, NATO's readiness for such a clash lies in doubt.

"NATO could not defeat Russia given its current capabilities without incurring significant cost in terms of casualties, damage, and temporary loss of territorial sovereignty,” Gordon B. Davis, a senior fellow at the CEPA think tank and NATO’s former deputy assistant secretary general, told the Kyiv Independent. Collectively, the 32 members of NATO can field a powerful, and modern fighting force, but — its European contingent at least — faces ammunition shortages, a fragmented defense industry, and insufficient air defense coverage. Then there is the question of unity and the will of Western societies to make sacrifices in a costly and prolonged war.
https://kyivindependent.com/nato-vs-russ...e-for-war/