NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte issued a stern warning to the organization’s allied nations on Thursday, suggesting they stand as “Russia’s next target” after Ukraine.
Rutte delivered the sobering message that NATO countries are “already in harm’s way” during a keynote address at a Berlin event hosted by the Munich Security Conference. He equated Ukraine’s security with Europe’s security and predicted that “Russia could be ready to use military force against NATO within five years.”
“The dark forces of oppression are on the march again. I am here today to tell you where NATO stands, and what we must do to stop a war before it starts. And to do that, we need to be crystal clear about the threat. We are Russia’s next target, and we are already in harm’s way,” Rutte said.
The sentiment of Rutte’s address echoed that of his very first major address as NATO chief one year ago, in which he warned member nations that they must shift to a “wartime mindset” and be willing to hike defense spending to prevent a war with Russia. In his speech on Thursday, Rutte circled back to this message to show the efforts put toward defense spending since his initial call to arms, but warned against complacency.
“I fear that too many are quietly complacent, too many don’t feel the urgency, and too many believe that time is on our side. It is not, the time for action is now. Allied defense spending and production must rise rapidly, our armed forces must have what they need to keep us safe, and Ukraine must have what it needs to defend itself — now,” Rutte said.
Rutte cited suspected acts of sabotage against Eastern European infrastructure and Russia’s airspace incursions as reasons to worry about the risk of escalation.
The NATO chief gave several direct nods to the United States, first quoting former President Ronald Reagan when he warned of the “aggressive impulses of an evil empire,” during the Cold War. Rutte said Putin is “empire-building” and warned that his attacks against Ukraine have escalated in 2025, while further destroying his own country. Rutte gave another U.S. nod, this time to President Donald Trump’s signature “Make America Great Again” slogan.
“Taxes are going up, inflation has skyrocketed, and petrol is rationed. Putin’s next presidential campaign slogan should be: ‘Make Russia Weak Again,’” Rutte said.
He said Trump is “the only one who can get Putin to the negotiating table,” and urged allied nations to continue putting pressure on Russia to see if Putin “really wants peace.” Rutte also praised the “critical” success of the Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List, or PURL initiative.
PURL, an initiative based on U.S.-supplied weapons sent to Ukraine that are funded by NATO, was launched over the summer and has supplied three-quarters of Ukraine’s Patriot batteries and missiles, according to Rutte. War Secretary Pete Hegseth described the $2 billion “firepower” initiative as one in which “European countries buy U.S. weapons transferred to NATO for the fight in Ukraine to bring peace to that conflict.”
“PURL is keeping Ukraine in the fight and protecting its population, and I count, indeed, on more allies to contribute to PURL, and to step up support to Ukraine in many other ways,” Rutte said.
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Rutte also further blasted Putin’s war machine, saying Russia could not continue its fight without China’s support.
After Rutte spoke with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Thursday, Germany invited the U.S. to join a Berlin meeting next week about a possible ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine, according to Politico.