Russia developing multiples more ammunition than NATO, says Secretary General Mark Rutte

Published connected 04/06/2025 - 14:06 GMT+2•Updated 14:53

The Russian service is processing its warfare capabilities by aggregate times much than that of NATO contempt having an system 25 times smaller, NATO's caput wide has warned.

Mark Rutte besides suggested Russia could onslaught NATO territory wrong 3 to 5 years, during a property convention up of a defence ministerial gathering taking spot astatine NATO office successful Brussels.

Rutte's remarks travel arsenic nan US is demanding its NATO friends show "credible" advancement towards spending 5% of GDP connected defence.

"The Russians, arsenic we speak are reconstituting themselves astatine a accelerated gait and producing 4 times much ammunition successful 3 months than nan full of NATO successful a year," said Rutte. 

He said Russia is doing this contempt having an system 25 times smaller than nan mixed system of NATO. 

"So we really person to ramp up our defence spending, and that includes bid and control, agelong scope aerial defence systems to support ourselves safe successful lawsuit nan Russians determine to onslaught america successful 3 to 5 years," he told reporters. 

Demands for NATO friends to summation defence spending from 2% of GDP to 5% is nan cardinal attraction of this week's meeting, arsenic good arsenic a leaders' acme for nan confederation taking spot successful nan Hague connected 24 and 25 June. 

"Putin needs to cognize if he tries to onslaught nan Baltics aliases NATO our consequence will beryllium devastating," Rutte said. 

The timeline for friends to meet nan 5% target hasn't yet been agreed but US Ambassador to NATO Mathew Whitaker said Washington expects countries to commencement ramping up spending immediately. 

US President Donald Trump expects friends to "show meaningful advancement connected defence budgets and reliable maturation twelvemonth aft year", Whitaker told journalists successful a briefing up of nan defence ministers' meetings connected Wednesday. 

"The halfway of our connection is 5%  - each state must perpetrate to spending 5% [of GDP]," Whitaker said. 

He said nan US is committed to NATO but nan US wants to spot Europeans "take a activity domiciled connected European security". 

He besides said Trump wants nan warfare successful Ukraine to end, adding: "This warfare needs to travel to an extremity – nan costs is very precocious connected some sides."