WASHINGTON — This is Doomsday prepping, European style.
Secret documents revealed Wednesday that Berlin has begun making plans for how it could help deploy as many as 800,000 NATO troops — including Americans — into Ukraine as Russia’s nuclear saber-rattling reaches new heights.
“Operation Deutschland” is a 1,000-page plan to prepare Germany for the possibility of a World War III scenario.
The top-secret papers reportedly detail specific buildings and infrastructure to protect so they can be utilized by the military, how businesses and civilians should prepare in case of increased threats, according to the German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.
They also suggested Berlin was preparing a way to push 200,000 military vehicles across German territory should the alliance be required to join Ukraine’s efforts, though further details were kept classified.
Germany has also advised citizens on ways to prepare for the worst by boosting their self-sufficiency through mechanisms including installing diesel generators or even wind turbines, according to the report.
Putin ‘playing with our fear’
The alarm is not contained to Germany. Sweden and Norway have also recently issued pamphlets and literature instructing citizens of how to prepare should the Ukraine War conflict boil over into their countries.
The rising concern comes as Russian President Vladimir Putin formally changed the Kremlin’s nuclear strike policy on Tuesday, announcing that Moscow may now use nuclear weapons to respond to non-nuclear, “conventional weapons” strikes.
Though Berlin has been criticized over perceived hesitance regarding to support Ukraine’s fight since 2022, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said Tuesday that the country would “not let ourselves be intimidated” by Putin’s nuclear policy shift.
“Putin is playing with our fear. He didn’t just start doing this 1,000 days ago [when Russia invaded Ukraine], he started back in 2014 [when Russia annexed Crimea,” she said. “Germany, in particular, made the mistake back then, especially politically, of allowing itself to be intimidated by this fear — and above all, not listening to its partners, especially our Eastern European partners, who made it clear at the time that we must not rely on promises from the Kremlin.”
“We must invest in our own security and protection,” she added.
The policy change was in response to another major development in the war’s prosecution this week: the long-awaited US decision to allow Ukraine to fire American-made longer-range missiles into Russia — eliminating a former “safe space” Russia enjoyed 190-miles from the Ukrainian border.
That move — as well as Germany’s reported decision to create a WWIII plan — was spurred by Russia’s decision to ask North Korea to send at least 10,00 troops to help fight Ukraine, with a possibility of bringing in another 100,000 from the communist US adversary, insiders say.
Many world leaders, experts and US officials have said that the direct involvement of US troops is the most significant escalations in the war since its start.
Path to victory
Europe’s preparations come after Trump regularly warned audiences at his campaign rallies that the US could be on the brink of World War III as three of America’s foremost adversaries — Russia, North Korea and Iran — are now actively involved in conflicts with US allies.
Without Trump announcing a formal plan for how he will handle the Ukraine war, some Russia hawks and NATO states have feared he might sympathize with Moscow. However, the once and future president has shown recent signs of supporting Ukraine in reaching a just end to the war.
For example, Trump indicated he would not oppose allowing Ukraine to continue firing into Russia once he comes into office in a recent conversation with an “Eastern European president,” a source told The Post on Wednesday.
That strategy of hitting Russia directly is a major part of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s “victory plan” he has been pitching to world leaders — including Trump — since this fall.
“I recall our great meeting with President Trump back in September, when we discussed in detail the Ukraine-U.S. strategic partnership, the Victory Plan, and ways to put an end to Russian aggression against Ukraine,” Zelensky posted to X after Trump secured the 2024 election. “I appreciate President Trump’s commitment to the “peace through strength” approach in global affairs.”
“This is exactly the principle that can practically bring just peace in Ukraine closer. I am hopeful that we will put it into action together.”
Zelensky has continued singing the president-elect’s praises this week, telling Fox News on Tuesday that he believed the Republican’s election will bring a swifter end to the war because Trump is “stronger” than Putin.
However, the Ukrainian president also cautioned that if the US Congress refuses to continue military aid for Ukraine, his country “will lose.”
Still, he was optimistic in a Sunday interview with Ukrainian public broadcaster Suspilne that — thanks in part to Trump’s election — the war could end next year through diplomatic means.
“[The war] will end faster with the policy of this team that will now lead the White House,” referring to the incoming Trump administration. “This is their approach, their promise to their society, and it is also very important to them,” he added.
Additional reporting by Diana Glebova