On Tuesday, Germany’s Foreign Minister, Johann Wadephul, issued a stark warning based on new intelligence reports that indicate Moscow is gearing up for the possibility of a future assault on a NATO nation. This marks the third instance this month where high-ranking German officials have sounded the alarm about a potential conflict with Russia within the next four years.

“Putin’s focus is on the EU and NATO,” stated Wadephul, underscoring the urgency. “Our intelligence services are sounding the alarm: Russia is, at a minimum, setting the stage for a possible war with NATO by 2029. It is imperative that we, alongside our partners and allies, take decisive steps to deter further Russian hostility,” read a post from the official German foreign ministry X account.

Wadephul further explained, “These military formations are undoubtedly targeting us, the European Union, and NATO. The threat posed by Russia is no longer an abstract concern; it has become an immediate reality,” he emphasized.

The German Foreign Minister reiterated, “Our intelligence agencies are urgently alerting us that Russia is setting the groundwork for a potential conflict with NATO by 2029 at the latest.” (Photo by Ammar Safarjalani/Xinhua via Getty Images)

Retired General Philip Breedlove, who once served as NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Europe, echoed the gravity of the German evaluations during an interview with Fox News Digital. “I concur with the foreign minister’s assessment. Russia’s ambitions for Eastern Europe are unmistakably apparent,” he stated.

Breedlove noted that many observers have forgotten Russia’s early signals before the full-scale invasion. “At the beginning of this large-scale invasion phase, Russia gave us two documents. They call them treaties. We never acknowledged them. We continued to call them documents… Essentially, Mr. Putin said, ‘Sign these or there will be other means…’ And we did not sign them. And we learned what ‘or else’ meant. And he came crashing into Ukraine for the third time. First was in Crimea. Second was in the Donbas, and now the third time in multiple axes.”

Breedlove said Putin’s ambitions extend far beyond Ukraine. “If you read those two documents, if you actually read them and I did multiple times, his intention is for all of Eastern Europe… he’s going to rearrange the security architecture of Eastern Europe back to a Cold War status where he controls all those buffer countries and has this buffer between him and NATO.”

Russian soldiers ride a truck during a rehearsal for the Victory Day military parade at the Dvortsovaya (Palace) Square in St. Petersburg, Russia, Wednesday, April 30, 2025. Gen. Breedlove warned that Putin will have to confront the consequences of massive wartime losses, “The conservative estimates are 1.1 to 1.5 million people”. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky) (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky)

Asked whether Russia could be ready to attempt such a move within five years, Breedlove said that depends on how quickly Moscow can rebuild its degraded forces. “Ukraine has smashed his army, his army west of the Urals is deeply damaged… Is he able to rebuild this army? Is he able to hold the loyalty of the Russian people who are soon going to learn that their sons and husbands are not coming home?” 

He warned that Putin will have to confront the consequences of massive wartime losses. “The conservative estimates are 1.1 to 1.5 million people… During the first part of this war more than 11 years ago, when people didn’t come home, the moms of Moscow stood up. And I think that Mr. Putin is going to have to face that yet.”

The German foreign minister’s warning follows separate comments from Germany’s Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, who told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung that a war between Russia and NATO “could begin in 2029,” and that some analysts believe it could happen as early as 2028. The remarks were reported by Meduza.

Top military commanders have delivered similar assessments. Lt. Gen. Alexander Sollfrank, head of Germany’s joint operations command, told Reuters that Russia could launch on NATO territory “at any time.” He added that a larger assault could become possible by 2029 if rearmament continues.

Russian President Vladimir Putin visits the destroyer Vice-Admiral Kulakov at the Naval Base of Black Sea Fleet on Sept. 23, 2014, in Novorossiysk, Russia. Putin is on a one-day visit to new Russian Military Naval Base of Black Sea Fleet in Novorossiysk. (Photo by Sasha Mordovets/Getty Images)

The warnings come as the United States pushes forward with a proposed Russia-Ukraine peace deal. President Donald Trump said Tuesday he will not meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin or Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy until the agreement is complete or in its final stage.

In a Truth Social post, Trump said “tremendous progress” had been made and that only “a few remaining points of disagreement” remain in the updated peace plan. A U.S. official told Fox News Digital that Ukraine has agreed to the revised framework, while Moscow is reviewing the latest changes.

Ukrainian servicemen of the 44th artillery brigade fire a 2s22 Bohdana self-propelled howitzer towards Russian positions at the frontline in the Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine, Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2025. ((AP Photo/Danylo Antoniuk))

The negotiations continued despite a major overnight Russian strike on Kyiv that killed at least seven people and damaged power infrastructure.