NATO’s Rutte: ‘We’re all on the eastern flank now’

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte on Monday urged allies to massively increase defense spending and build more weapons, as he warned that Russian President Vladimir Putin could launch an attack by 2030. 

"Russia could be ready to use military force against NATO within 5 years. Let’s not kid ourselves, we’re all on the eastern flank now," Rutte said in a speech at Chatham House in London, referring to the range of Russian missiles. 

“The fact is, we need a quantum leap in our collective defense. The fact is, we must have more forces and capabilities to implement our defense plans in full. The fact is, danger will not disappear even when the war in Ukraine ends," he added. 

Rutte — a former Dutch prime minister who now heads the transatlantic military alliance at a critical moment for global security — also met with U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who's facing an uphill struggle to increase defense spending. 

The NATO chief's speech comes ahead of a high-stakes summit in The Hague later this month, which will mark America-first U.S. President Donald Trump’s return to the NATO scene. 

As NATO officials brace for Trump's unpredictability during the summit, Rutte also tried to push back against fears that the U.S. could militarily disengage from Europe, as Washington sees China as its main security threat.  

"Will there be a sudden withdrawal of U.S. troops? No," he told the audience, but added that Washington's pivot to focus more on Asia was "only logical." 

That shift will be a step-by-step approach that will leave no capability gaps for NATO in Europe, Rutte insisted. 

More money, more weapons

Allies are expected to agree at the summit to a new Trump-backed spending target of 5 percent of GDP — 3.5 percent for purely military expenditures and 1.5 percent for other, yet-to-be-defined defense-related items. That’s a huge increase compared to the current 2 percent goal.

Southern flank nations, such as Italy and Spain, reluctantly agreed to meet the current objective only this year — more than a decade after it was first agreed at a summit in Wales — and will not veto the new objective. Convincing Madrid was especially tricky, as the southern European country doesn't see Russia as an immediate security threat. 

Last week, NATO defense ministers approved fresh so-called capability targets — meaning new requirements for military equipment to implement the alliance’s regional defense plans against a potential Russian attack.

While the details are classified, the priorities include air and missile defense, large formations of land forces, long-range capabilities and logistics.

NATO allies need “a 400 percent increase in air and missile defence … Our militaries also need thousands more armored vehicles and tanks, millions more artillery shells, and we must double our enabling capabilities, such as logistics, supply, transportation, and medical support,” Rutte said Monday.

Governments are also on track to purchase more warships, drones, long-range missiles and aircraft — including at least 700 U.S.-made F-35 warplanes, he added.

"When it comes to ammunition, Russia produces in three months what the whole of NATO produces in a year," Rutte warned.