Lieutenant General Martin Wijnen, Commander-in-Chief of the Dutch army, who will resign in 2024, has stated that the Netherlands and its society must prepare for the war with the Russian Federation.

"The Netherlands should be seriously afraid of war, and our society should prepare for it," Wijnen said in an interview for De Telegraaf.

Wijnen believes that The Hague must follow the example of Sweden, Finland and the Baltic countries since they border with Russia or are located close to it, so they are better prepared for the beginning of the war.

"The Netherlands needs to learn that the entire society needs to be prepared for when things go wrong. The Netherlands should not think our safety is guaranteed because we are 1,500 kilometers away (from the Russians – ed.)," Wijnen said, adding that civilians must have stocks of food and drinkable water for emergencies.

The top general warned the public that Russia keeps getting stronger, so a strong army is needed as a deterrent factor.

"There is only one language that Russia understands, and that is one of a strong military," Wijnen stated, stressing the importance of solving the problem of personnel shortage in the Dutch armed forces.

Wijnen said he expects a lot from the one-year voluntary service initiative for young people, which was implemented after a similar programme in Sweden. The top general hopes to attract two to three thousand young people each year, a third of whom are likely to choose a career in the army and a third to become reservists.

Maia Sandu, President of Moldova, stressed the importance of support for Ukraine against Russia’s full-scale invasion since the Russian aggression may spread to other countries.

Any concessions to Russia will only lead to an expansion of aggression in the future, the Ukraine's Foreign Ministry is convinced.

Earlier, Czech Prime Minister Jan Lipavský stated that the main challenge for Prague is to hold Russia as far as possible from the Czech borders.