Nearly five years of Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine and parallel conflicts in the Middle East have forced the North Atlantic Alliance to radically revise its approach to countering a potential attack from Moscow. While for decades the defense of NATO's European territories was built on the principle of deterrence and blocking enemy advancement, Alliance military strategists have now concluded that merely holding borders will no longer be sufficient. The new doctrine involves launching strikes against military targets, supply depots, and industrial infrastructure deep within enemy territory — directly inside Russia.
The Alliance's First-Ever Deep Strike Symposium
A key event marking the turning point in NATO's strategy was the Deep Strike Symposium held in June 2026. The event, the first of its kind in the Alliance's history, was organized by the Supreme Allied Commander Europe, U.S. General Alexus Grynkewich. The symposium brought together high-ranking military commanders and representatives from member states, which in itself indicates the systemic rather than episodic nature of the doctrine's revision.
From Deterrence to Deep Defeat
In a recent speech outlining his concept of victory, Grynkewich set out the logic of the new strategy: first, NATO's defensive forces must stop the first wave of an attack, and then weaken the enemy's subsequent offensive actions. If Russia continues its offensive, the Alliance intends to dismantle the entire warmaking system — striking not only troops, but everything that ensures their operations, supply, and command. At the same time, it is emphasized, this strategy does not envision the use of nuclear weapons. Long-range precision-guided weapons play a key role in the new concept.
Armaments for the New Doctrine
The U.S. is already modernizing and expanding its arsenal of long-range assets, including Tomahawk cruise missiles, ATACMS missiles, and the development of new models. European allies, lagging behind in this area, are trying to accelerate the creation of their own systems and replenish limited stockpiles of Storm Shadow, SCALP, and Taurus missiles. In the event of a war, NATO plans to use missiles, rocket systems, and drones to destroy remote military targets — airfields, army bases, industrial enterprises, critical infrastructure, and resource bases. Some of these targets could be thousands of kilometers from the Alliance's borders.
Ukrainian Experience as a Reference
According to The Wall Street Journal, Ukraine is already applying similar tactics in practice, striking not only Russian weapons systems, but also the facilities ensuring their production and supply. Thus, the combat experience of the Ukrainian side has effectively become a live testing ground for refining the approaches that NATO is now formalizing in its own defense doctrine.
Against the backdrop of these changes, Washington reportedly intends to ask NATO allies to increase funding for arms supplies to Ukraine. At the same time, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that Ukraine will not join NATO, pointing to the reasons for such a decision. Both facts emphasize that the strategic restructuring of the Alliance is taking place amid ongoing uncertainty regarding Kyiv's future within the Western security architecture.
