NATO head Mark Rutte warned the US-led transatlantic alliance on Thursday that it was not ready for the threats it would face from Russia in the coming years and called for a shift to a wartime mindset - with much higher defense spending.

"We’re as close as we’ve been to war with Russia since the Second World War [and] we announce a half billion cut in our conventional defence. It was the lack of conventional defence that encouraged Putin to invade Ukraine in the first place", he said.

Nato chief Mark Rutte issued a stark warning on Dec 12 to “turbocharge” defence spending, saying European nations were not prepared for the threat of future war with Russia. “We are not ready for what is coming our way in four to five years,

New NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte warned Europe Thursday that Russia's Vladimir Putin wants to "wipe Ukraine off the map" and might come for other parts of Europe next. "It is time to shift to a wartime mindset," Rutte said at the Carnegie Europe think tank in Brussels, in his first major speech since taking NATO's helm in October.

Governments need to make more orders and defense contractors have to take more risks, NATO’s secretary-general said.

NATO chief Mark Rutte on Monday said Russia and Iran were complicit in the crimes of ousted Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, and his fall showed they were "unreliable partners". "Russia and Iran were the main backers of the Assad regime,

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said on Thursday the alliance needs to shift to a "wartime mindset" in the face of increased aggression from Russia and new threats from China. The NATO chief called on the alliance to "turbocharge" defence production and spending during a speech at a think tank event in Brussels aimed at launching a debate on military investment.

The NATO chief on Monday reaffirmed Montenegro's role within the alliance while underscoring the growing threats the country faces from Russia and other elsewhere. “Montenegro faces consistent hybrid threats from Russian and foreign actors.

(AP Photo/Virginia Mayo) BRUSSELS (AFP) — NATO chief Mark Rutte issued a stark warning Thursday to "turbo-charge" defense spending, saying European nations were not prepared for the threat of future war with Russia. "We are not ready for what is coming ...

NATO head Mark Rutte warned the U.S.-led transatlantic alliance on Thursday that it was not ready for the threats it would face from Russia in the coming years and called for a shift to a wartime mindset - with much higher defence spending.

"It is time to shift to a wartime mindset, and turbo-charge our defense production and defense spending," Mark Rutte said.