Nato Warns We Need To ‘prepare For War’ And ‘we’re Not Ready For What’s Coming’

Nato warns we need to ‘prepare for war’ and ‘we’re not ready for what’s coming’

[ad_1]

NATO Holds Dragon 24 Military Exercises As Part Of Steadfast Defender — Nato Dragon 24 military exercise in March near Gniew, Poland (Picture: Getty)

Britain and other members of Nato have been urged to shift to a ‘wartime mindset’ amid the ongoing threats from Russia.

In one of his most dire warnings since heading the military alliance, Mark Rutte admitted that the global security situation is the ‘worst in his lifetime.’

He said that nations are not ready for what is coming and said that much higher defence spending is needed to keep the enemy at bay.

Considering that during the Cold War, Europeans spent more than 3% of GDP on defence, Rutte said that much more would be needed in the future.

{“@context”:”https:\/\/schema.org”,”@type”:”VideoObject”,”name”:”Metro.co.uk”,”duration”:”T2M57S”,”thumbnailUrl”:”https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2024\/12\/12\/14\/93083417-0-image-m-10_1734015479715.jpg”,”uploadDate”:”2024-12-12T14:53:03+0000″,”description”:”NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said ‘It is time to shift to a wartime mindset and turbocharge our defence production and defence spending’.”,”contentUrl”:”https:\/\/videos.metro.co.uk\/video\/met\/2024\/12\/12\/1761606365936795401\/480x270_MP4_1761606365936795401.mp4″,”height”:270,”width”:480}

To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web
browser that
supports HTML5
video

Up Next

window.addEventListener(‘metroVideo:relatedVideosCarouselLoaded’, function(data) {
if (typeof(data.detail) === ‘undefined’ || typeof(data.detail.carousel) === ‘undefined’ || typeof(data.detail.carousel.el_) === ‘undefined’) {
return;
}
var player = data.detail.carousel.el_;
var container = player.closest(‘.metro-video-player’);
var placeholder = container.querySelector(‘.metro-video-player__up-next-placeholder’);
container.removeChild(placeholder);
container.classList.add(‘metro-video-player–related-videos-loaded’);
});

The alliance estimates 23 of its 32 members will meet the 2% target this year.

Members are also barely grappling with renewed pressure from Donald Trump, who has called for allies to spend 3% of GDP on defence.

Meanwhile, the Kremlin dedicated 5.9% of its GDP on defence last year. Vladimir Putin also has the support of allies like China, Iran and North Korea.

‘Russia is preparing for long-term confrontation, with Ukraine and with us,’ Rutte said in a speech in Brussels.

DRAWSKO POMORSKIE, POLAND - FEBRUARY 26: Soldiers of the United Kingdom's 2nd Battalion Royal Anglian infantry unit storm an enemy position in a simulated attack during the NATO "Brilliant Jump" military exercises on February 26, 2024 in Drawsko Pomorskie, Poland. Brilliant Jump is combining forces from the United Kingdom, Poland, Spain, Albania and Turkey under NATO's Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (Land) (VJTF(L)). Brilliant Jump is part of the ongoing NATO Steadfast Defender exercise, with is involving 90,000 troops in maneuvers across Europe. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images) — Soldiers of Britain’s 2nd Battalion Royal Anglian infantry unit storm an enemy position in a simulated attack during the Nato ‘Brilliant Jump’ military exercises in February (Picture: Getty)

‘We are not ready for what is coming our way in four to five years.’

He added: ‘It is time to shift to a wartime mindset and turbocharge defence production and defence spending.’

Rutte, a former Dutch prime minister, said that the alliance must step up on defence production, calling on governments to ‘stop creating barriers between each other and between industries, banks and pension funds’.

He sent a message to the defence industry: ‘There is money on the table, and it will only increase. So dare to innovate and take risks.’

German soldiers take part in the Lithuanian-German division-level international military exercise 'Grand Quadriga 2024' at a training range in Pabrade, north of the capital Vilnius, Lithuania on Wednesday, May 29, 2024. 'Grand Quadriga 2024', a wide-scale exercise of the German Bundeswehr that rehearses moving two divisions from the central part of Europe to eastern. Over 3 thousand German troops and military equipment has been moved to Lithuania.(AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis) — German soldiers take part in the Lithuanian-German division-level international military exercise ‘Grand Quadriga 2024’ (Picture: AP)

The Nato chief also warned of a ‘coordinated campaign to destabilise our societies’ including cyberattacks and assassination attempts.

He listed Russia’s attacks on Georgia in 2008, the annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula in 2014, and the all-out invasion launched almost three years ago.

‘How many more wake-up calls do we need? We should be profoundly concerned. I know I am,’ he said.

Rutte also cautioned about China’s ambitions, saying that it is substantially building up its forces ‘with no transparency and no limitations’.

Got a story? Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at [email protected]. Or you can submit your videos and pictures here.

For more stories like this, check our news page.

Follow Metro.co.uk on Twitter and Facebook for the latest news updates. You can now also get Metro.co.uk articles sent straight to your device. Sign up for our daily push alerts here.

[ad_2]

Source link

Nato warns we need to ‘prepare for war’ and ‘we’re not ready for what’s coming’

Related Posts

Welcome Back!

Retrieve your password