NATO puts over 500,000 troops on high alert

More than 500,000 NATO military personnel are currently on high alert, the US-led military bloc's spokesperson, Farah Dakhlallah, confirmed on Sunday."Since 2014, NATO has undergone the most significant transformation in our collective defense in a generation," Dakhlallah told CNN."We have put in place the most comprehensive defense plans since the Cold War, with currently more than 500,000 troops at high readiness," she indicated.The announcement follows the Washington Summit Declaration, where NATO leaders confirmed that Ukraine is on an "irreversible path" into the alliance.The state of high readiness means that military units can be deployed within 30 days. Back in 2022, the alliance had 20,000 soldiers in a state of high readiness. In the summer of 2023, they decided to increase their number to 300 thousand, and a year later NATO reported on the achievement of this goal."What the Allies have is in excess of the 300,000 we set... These are the forces that the Allies have told us are available at this level of readiness," a NATO official told AFP in June.At the same time, according to military analysts quoted by the Financial Times, European NATO countries are facing military shortages and would not be able to send enough troops to the front in the event of a war with Russia.On paper, NATO's European allies have a total of 1.9 million troops, enough to counter Russia. But in reality, it will be difficult for the countries of the North Atlantic Alliance to attract more than 300,000 to participate in a potential military conflict. Furthermore, it would take months to recruit even that number of people.