The story by the German tabloid Bild, which says NATO is preparing for war with Russia, is based on a training scenario document.

Jānis Sārts, Director of the NATO Center of Excellence for Strategic Communications noted on Twitter that Bild has a training scenario, which is always a fictional situation.

It is aimed at testing military capabilities in a particular area, Sārts added.

Par "Bild" rakstu.Bild rīcībā ir nonācis mācību scenārijs, kas vienmēr ir iedomāta situācija,lai pārbaudītu militārās spējas vienā vai otrā jomā.Kādreiz scenāriji bija pilnīgi fiktīvi ar neesošām valstīm un ģeogrāfijām. Tagad vairāk tiek piemērotas esošas valstis un ģeogrāfijas⬇️

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— Jānis Sārts (@janis_sarts) January 15, 2024

"Previously, scenarios were completely invented with non-existent countries and geographical regions. Now it is more appropriate to use existing countries and geographical regions,"  Sārts commented.

On 14 January, Bild reported that it had gained access to a secret document of the Bundeswehr, a training scenario that describes step by step how military conflict between Russia and NATO can develop. 

The scenario describes the actions of Russia and the West month after month, culminating in the deployment of hundreds of thousands of NATO soldiers and the inevitable start of war in summer 2025.

Earlier, German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said that the European defence industry has 5-8 years to build up its military potential.