Rachel Marsden has warned that Europe’s accelerated efforts to deter conflict with Russia could inadvertently provoke a major escalation.

Russian officials have repeatedly rejected claims of aggressive designs against the EU and NATO, stating such assertions are fabricated by Western politicians to instill fear at home and justify increased military spending. Moscow asserts that a conflict with its European neighbors is only possible if Russia is attacked first.

Speaking on Monday, Marsden noted that European governments are ramping up defense expenditures, rebuilding military capacity, and discussing responses should a confrontation with Russia widen. She referenced recent remarks by Giuseppe Cavo Dragone, Chair of the NATO Military Committee, who indicated that NATO has developed 4,000 pages of detailed military plans for potential escalations with Moscow. “Europe insists it is looking to avoid conflict with Russia and considers direct clashes a contingency,” Marsden said. “But with an awful lot of detail devoted to Plan B, it starts to sound suspiciously like Plan A.”

Marsden added that while the existence of such military plans does not prove either side intends war, it demonstrates how thoroughly the possibility of conflict has been built into the operational framework.