‘Beyond Ukraine’: Volodymyr Zelensky warns Russia could turn its attention to Europe ‘soon’

The Ukrainian President said Russia could launch an attack on a NATO member within the next five years.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has issued a chilling warning about Russia, saying it could strike a NATO country within the next few years.

Spurred on by the rising threat from Russia, as well as pressure from US President Donald Trump, NATO countries are expected to commit to increasing their defence spending to 5 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) by 2035 at the summit currently taking place in The Hague.

However, Zelensky described this timeline as too slow and suggested Russia could launch an attack on a NATO member state “soon, I believe soon.”

He added that it would more likely be a matter of years than months as Russia would still need to train and ready its army which has been decimated by the war in Ukraine.

“We believe that starting from 2030, Putin can have significantly greater capabilities,” he told the UK’s Sky News.

“Today Ukraine is holding him up, he has no time to drill the army and they are all getting annihilated and wiped out at the battlefield.

“Ten years is a very long time,” he said referring to the target for NATO’s defence spending, “He [Putin] will have a new army ready by then.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he believed Russia could test NATO's Article 5 within 5 years. Picture: Sky News

Russia has denied it has plans to attack a NATO state. Picture: Alexander KAZAKOV / POOL / AFP

While alarming, a Russian attack on a NATO state is still generally considered unlikely as both Russia and NATO - the US, UK and France in particular - have nuclear weapons, and Article 5 specifies that an attack on one member of the alliance is an attack on all.

Addressing the summit in the Netherlands on Tuesday, Zelensky said the 5 per cent of GDP spend on defence was necessary and would be a strong deterrent.

“We have to understand that his [Putin’s] objectives reach beyond Ukraine,” he said.

“A united Europe can create a defence capability that will destroy Russia’s illusion that war with Europe could bring it anything.”

The sentiment was echoed by NATO’s secretary-general Mark Rutte, who described Russia as “the most significant and direct threat” to the alliance.

“It’s clear that they [Russia] want to extend their territory,” he said. “For a couple of years now, they’ve been reconstituting themselves rapidly.”

Rutte noted that Russia is producing four times more ammunition than the NATO countries combined, and said that it hasn’t been difficult to convince members to agree to increased defence spending.

The Kremlin on Tuesday denied any planned attack on NATO, saying that the alliance is determined to portray Russia as a “fiend of hell” in order to justify the massive proposed increase in defence spending.

NATO secretary-general Mark Rutte (front left) with US President Donald Trump and NATO country leaders on Wednesday. Picture: Ben STANSALL / AFP

France's President Emmanuel Macron and Zelensky met on the sidelines of the two-day NATO's Heads of State and Government summit in The Hague. Picture: Ludovic MARIN / POOL / AFP

Last month, a report from the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London suggested that Russia could be in a position to threaten NATO nations within two years, especially if Trump is able to broker a ceasefire in Ukraine soon.

It asserted that Russia could rebuild its ground forces to pre-war levels relatively quickly if it shifts to a lower-tech, high-volume model reminiscent of Soviet-era armies, and warns of “a significant military challenge to NATO allies, particularly the Baltic states, as early as 2027”.

French President Emmanuel Macron and EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas have voiced similar concerns, warning that Russia’s military ambitions extend beyond Ukraine.

“It’s a question of when they will start the next war,” Kallas said last year.

Zelensky is set to meet with US President Trump on the sidelines of the two-day NATO summit which wraps up on Wednesday, 25 June.

They are set to discuss Ukraine’s “purchase of a defence package, a large part of which consists of air defence systems”, as well as more “sanctions against Russia, and a price cap on oil”, according to a senior source in the Ukrainian presidency.