Russia developed offensive plans targeting civilian and military sites in Japan and South Korea in the event of a war with NATO, the Financial Times reported on Dec. 31, citing documents shown to the outlet by Western sources.
The leaked plans, drawn up between 2008 and 2014 to train military officers for a potential conflict on Russia's eastern flank, are reportedly still considered "relevant to Russian strategy" today.
The documents outline 160 potential targets, including civilian and military infrastructure such as roads, bridges, factories, and military installations in NATO-allied Japan and South Korea.
The plans detailed how striking these targets could protect Russia's eastern flank in a broader conflict by disrupting the "regrouping of troops in areas of operational purpose."
Military targets identified in the plans include the central and regional command headquarters of the Japanese and South Korean armed forces, radar installations, air bases, and naval facilities. Civilian infrastructure targets include roads, bridges, and rail tunnels.
Other key sites include fuel refineries, industrial facilities such as steelworks and chemical factories in Busan, South Korea, and 13 power plants, including a nuclear complex in Tokai, Japan.
Although the plans were drafted between 2008 and 2014, both Russia and NATO are now openly discussing the possibility of war.
Russian Deputy Defense Minister Andrei Belousov, speaking at a Defense Ministry meeting on Dec. 16, said Russia needed to prepare for various scenarios, including a "potential conflict with NATO within the next decade."
Belousov accused NATO of preparing for war, citing actions such as appointing a representative in Kyiv and supporting Ukraine’s NATO membership during the Alliance's 75th-anniversary summit in July 2024.
On the Atlantic side, European NATO foreign ministers have begun discussing a gradual increase in the alliance’s defense spending target from 2% to 3% of GDP by 2030.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius in particular advocated for a larger defense budget, saying: "If Putin attacks, we need to be able to wage war."
Martin Fornusek
