Increase defence spending or learn Russian, NATO warns

Mark Rutte says the latest advances in Russian missile technology allows Putin’s forces to hit targets in western nations in ‘a matter of minutes’.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer (L) greets NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte outside 10, Downing Street. Picture; Getty Images.

People in Britain had “better learn to speak Russian” if they are not prepared to increase defence spending to 5 per cent and meet the growing military threat from President Putin, the secretary-general of NATO has warned.

Mark Rutte said that all NATO countries were “on the eastern flank now” as the latest advances in Russian missile technology allowed Putin’s forces to hit targets in western nations in “a matter of minutes”.

He said Russia was producing more ammunition in three months than the whole of NATO turned out in a year, and could threaten the alliance militarily within three to five years. He added that the danger would not “disappear” even if the war in Ukraine ended, as Putin had pivoted the Russian economy to military production with technical support from China.

He said there was a pressing need to increase spending on air and missiles defences by 400 per cent. “We see in Ukraine how Russia delivers terror from above, so we will strengthen the shield that protects our skies,” he said.

Rutte was speaking before a NATO summit at the Hague this month that is expected to agree a new timescale to increase core defence spending to 3.5 per cent, as well as a commitment to increase defence-related infrastructure spending by another 1.5 per cent. Asked whether he believed that taxes should rise to fund the new spending Rutte, the Dutch former prime minister said that countries such as the UK would have to decide whether and how to pay to protect themselves.

“If you do not do this, if you would not go to the 5 per cent, you could still have the National Health Service, the pension system et cetera, but you had better learn to speak Russian,” he said.

Britain has promised to increase its defence spending from 2.33 per cent of GDP to 2.5 per cent by 2027 and to 3 per cent in the 2030s. Sir Keir Starmer, the prime minister, has acknowledged that spending may rise even further.

The Times