“If he intends to attack the alliance, don’t even think about it. He'll lose, the reaction will just be crushing. We know how strong our defence capabilities are," said the NATO chief at the gathering of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group in Brussels.
The NATO chief besides stressed that the Alliance associate States would defend all inch of their territory. At the same time, Rutte called for increased defence spending by at least 20% in 5 years. Otherwise, as he said, the alliance "will not be able to defend its territories."
NATO members are unanimous in their opinion that Ukraine must have provided everything it needs to win on the battlefield and negociate with Russia from the position of force, added Rutte.
Disturbing study of Danish intelligence
The day before The Danish Military Intelligence Service presented a study informing against the threat of "large-scale war" in Europe in the next 5 years. The agency estimated that if Russia considered NATO weak — both militarily and politically — it could usage force against 1 or more countries of the alliance.
In December, Admiral Tony Radakin, Chief of Defence Staff of the United Kingdom, said that any Russian attack on the United Kingdom would meet with a "higher-level response". He added that it was crucial to "remain strong and proceed to strengthen" the atomic deterrence arsenal due to the fact that "it has the top impact on Putin".
Prior to that, Rutte repeatedly called on NATO leaders to control to "military thinking" and begin preparations for war to prevent it, referring to Russia as a possible opponent.
