‘Block, blunt, break’: What’s in NATO’s new Russia war plan?

NATO’s top commander says he is revealing the plan to stop a Russian invasion of Europe, even though the threat is not ‘imminent’. Save Share NATO’s top general has unveiled anew war planfor countering a Russian attack on members of the alliance, embedding lessons learned from the front lines in Ukraine. Speaking about NATO’s so-called “theory of victory” at the Warsaw Security Forum on Monday, General Alexus Grynkewich, who has served as head of United States European Command and the Supreme Allied Commander Europe since 2025, said the plan rests on three strategies designed to stop an invasion in its tracks: “block, blunt and break”. The announcement comes amid mounting warnings from European intelligence agencies of rising threats from Russia, including both the prospect of conventional military action and “hybrid warfare”, which can include tactics from cyberattacks to tampering with undersea cables. In a bid to ease the alliance’s growing concerns, Grynkewich said: “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.” But the new plan from NATO comes at a time when the alliance itself appears divided on how to deal with Russia, following a series of recent overtures from US President Donald Trump to Russian President Vladimir Putin, including his latest controversial plan for Russia torelease stocks of dieselto global markets despite sanctions on Russian oil. So, what’s in the new NATO plan, and what are European agencies warning about? How has Russia reacted? And is the alliance even on the same page on all of this? General Grynkewich told the Warsaw Security Forum that NATO does not view a military confrontation with Russia as “imminent or inevitable”, but that it will nevertheless be ready for one. “Implementing the theory of victory I’ve described today would require me to issue orders that I hope to never give,” he said. “But let there be no doubt: should war come, we will block, blunt any attack, and then if it does not cease, we will break the forces conducting aggression against us.” The “block, blunt and break” strategy, he explained, is aimed at stopping an attack rather than taking enemy territory. Drawing directly on lessons learned on the front lines in Ukraine and from conflict in the Middle East, Grynkewich said the plan relies on the use of precision weapons with “affordable mass”, like drones, and other autonomous systems....