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NATO Chief Mark Rutte has issued a grim warning regarding a possible clash with Russia as he urged member states to gear up for war.
Knewz.com has learned that Vladimir Putin recently signed a decree that lowered the threshold for Russia's use of nuclear arms against its adversaries, sparking further "World War III" concerns.
In a recent statement, the NATO Chief invoked the government spending trends during the Cold War, saying that military expenditure in many member nations is lower than what they were back then.
"We are still spending far less than during the Cold War. Even though the threats to our freedom and security are just as big — if not bigger," Rutte said during his speech at Brussels.
"Russia is preparing for long-term confrontation, with Ukraine and with us," he added.
The NATO Chief also made an ominous assessment, saying, "Ware not ready for what is coming our way in four or five years."
He also insisted that the current practice of each member state setting aside 2% of their national Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for defense expenditure will not be sufficient in keeping Russian aggression at bay.
It has been reported that several countries reduced their defense spending as the Cold War ended—a move that, according to Rutte, left the defense industry "hollowed out."
NATO member states started spending more on their military capabilities in 2014, when Russia launched its assault on Crimea and eventually "conquered it" in what many believe to be the actual beginning of the Ukraine war.
It was at that point that NATO member states vowed to spend up to 2% of their GDP on their military—a number Rutte says is far too low if the NATO member states are to prepare for upcoming threats.
"It is time to shift to a wartime mindset, and turbocharge our defence production and defence spending," Rutte further said in his speech, adding that the situation is the worst he has seen "in [his] lifetime."
According to reports, Russia has been spending around 6% of its GDP on defense capabilities, making its military expenditure three times that of NATO member states as it fuels the invasion operation in Ukraine and reportedly prepares for armed confrontation with Ukraine's Western allies.
On the other hand, Ukraine, which aspires to be a NATO member state someday, has increased its military funding to approximately 37% of the embattled nation's GDP.
At a time like this, NATO Chief Rutte urged member states to unite and “stop creating barriers between each other and between industries, banks and pension funds.”
While the Alliance tries to funnel funds toward gearing up to deter Russian aggression, Putin has taken a more hardline stance against Ukraine's Western allies—especially since President Joe Biden authorized Ukraine's use of United States-supplied missiles to attack targets deep within Russian territory.
In November 2024, the Kremlin announced a new executive order from the Russian President that states that "the emergence of new military threats and risks" has led the nation to reconsider the grounds on which it is permitted to take "extreme measures."
The updated nuclear doctrine, entitled Foundations of State Policy in the Field of Nuclear Deterrence, claims, according to reports:
"Nuclear weapons (NW) are an extreme measure to protect the sovereignty of the country. At the same time, due to the emergence of new military threats and risks, Russia needed to clarify the parameters that allow the use of NW."
Regarding the new doctrine – which was updated from the June 2020 version – the Russian state news agency TASS wrote:
"In particular, the amended doctrine expands the range of countries and military alliances subject to nuclear deterrence, as well as the list of military threats that such deterrence is designed to counter. In addition, the document states that Russia will now view any attack by a non-nuclear country supported by a nuclear power as a joint attack."
"Moscow also reserves the right to consider a nuclear response to a conventional weapons attack threatening its sovereignty, a large-scale launch of enemy aircraft, missiles, and drones targeting Russian territory, their crossing of the Russian border, and an attack on its ally Belarus," the news agency further explained.
Notably, Russian President Putin commented on the reported White House authorization to Ukraine, saying, "It is not a question of allowing the Kyiv regime to strike Russia with these weapons or not. It is a question of making a decision on whether NATO countries will directly participate in the military conflict or not"—thus essentially treating Ukraine's missile strikes on Russian territory as an indirect act of aggression by NATO.