Breitbart.com reports: “Europeans must be ready to sacrifice some ‘luxuries’ to pay to support Ukraine and to prevent a ‘wartime scenario’ coming to the nations of the continent if they are insufficiently prepared, NATO’s most senior military officer said in a speech namechecking both Russia and China as threats.

NATO’s Admiral Rob Bauer, the Dutch naval officer who is chair of the NATO Military Committee addressed a conference of the European Policy Centre think tank on Monday, and while asserting the alliance is more ready now ‘than it has ever been’, delivered a somewhat pessimistic message of the need for preparedness for conflict. In a speech aimed at businesses across the alliance, the Admiral outlined that businesses had to be ready for war, but by improving their readiness they also reduced the likelihood of future fighting by improving NATO’s level of deterrence.

The scale of spending needed to keep the peace in Europe is such that ordinary people would feel the pinch in the pocketbook, Admiral Bauer said, calling on politicians to provide strong leadership to make the case this is necessary to voters…”