NATO’s Assistant Secretary General for Intelligence and Security David Cattler stated that the alliance has made significant progress in protecting its territory since the start of the war. The best proof of the deterrence policy working is the fact that there haven’t been any intentional attacks from Russia on NATO allies’ territories since the start of the war. Cattler also stressed that Latvian residents have no reason to worry about their army’s capabilities in dealing with Russia’s aggressive activities and quelled a rumour that NATO once had a worst-case-scenario plan to allow the Baltic to suffer invasion as part of a Western tactical withdrawal. “This was the first time we made it clear the alliance sees two main opponents – Russia as a state actor and terrorism as a non-state actor,” he said.
The alliance provides defensive measures and aid in strengthening institutional capacity to deal with threats coming from Russia. In the past two years, many allies have performed notable measures against Russia’s espionage efforts, which are revealed more and more often and reported to society. A great deal of effort is put on preventing potential acts of sabotage in the future.
Cattler also noted that NATO member states are more prepared than before to prevent interference in elections. The US has made significant improvements over the years in sectors like cyber security, physical security, counter-intelligence, counter-actions to malicious influence, and prevention of fake news. Although there won’t be more attempts by Russia or any other country to influence elections in the coming years, the US and other countries have done a lot to become more resilient to such threats.
Cattler urges Latvia and other Baltic States to get involved and help manage the alliance. He denied NATO once having a plan to let a possible enemy deep into Baltic States’ territories to push their forces out later. The security situation of Baltic States has significantly improved in the past several years, with all countries having their own battle groups to enhance reaction capabilities and shorten reaction times. For countries like Latvia, which host battle groups on their territory, this means faster reaction, higher level of readiness, and units with higher deterrence and defensive capabilities.