BRUSSELS, Dec 4 (Anadolu Agency) – NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte warned on Wednesday that the alliance must urgently strengthen its military readiness in response to Russia’s unprecedented defense spending, which now consumes approximately 40% of its federal budget, as Moscow continues its rapid military buildup amid the ongoing war in Ukraine.
Speaking to reporters after a two-day NATO foreign ministers meeting at the alliance’s headquarters in Brussels, Rutte highlighted the scale of Russian investment in its armed forces.
“When it comes to making sure that our militaries are prepared for the situation at hand… we know at the moment that Russia is spending about 40% of its state budget on defense, about $200 billion a year,” Rutte said in response to a question from Anadolu Agency about European efforts to expand conscription and include women in military service.
He noted that Russia’s defense expenditures represent roughly 10% of its GDP and benefit significantly from purchasing-power advantages inside the country, enabling Moscow to expand troop numbers and accelerate weapons production at a pace that outstrips many Western estimates.
Rutte explicitly linked Russia’s spending surge to NATO’s new defense investment targets agreed at the July 2025 Washington Summit, where allies pledged to move toward 5% of GDP on defense by 2035, with at least 3.5% allocated to core defense capabilities (equipment, research, and infrastructure).
“So given that fact and a rapid buildup of the Russian Armed Forces, [this] means that we have to react, and that is the 5% [of GDP] defense pledge, including 3.5% spent on core defense,” he said.
The NATO chief emphasized that preparedness is not only about increasing troop numbers — including through expanded conscription and the inclusion of women — but also about scaling up defense-industrial output across the alliance.
“Making sure that the defense-industrial base can deliver the output necessary. Like your defense-industrial base in Türkiye — over 3,000 companies — part of that defense industrial base delivers the output to make sure that we can deter and defend,” Rutte said, praising Türkiye’s growing role as a key NATO arms producer.
European allies and Canada have made “significant” progress toward higher defense spending since Russia’s 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Rutte acknowledged, but stressed that all 32 members must now fully deliver on their commitments to strengthen forces, improve interoperability, and dramatically expand ammunition and equipment production.
Ukraine Support and New PURL Contributions
On Ukraine, the Secretary General underlined that sustained military assistance remains essential both for Kyiv’s survival and for NATO’s own security.
He welcomed fresh financial pledges to NATO’s Provision of Ukrainian Resilience and Lethality (PURL) program, a €5 billion annual fund established in 2025 to coordinate non-lethal and lethal aid outside the U.S.-led Ukraine Defense Contact Group format.
“We heard from Australia and New Zealand, who will also contribute to PURL — the first NATO partners to do so. And this means that allies and partners have already committed, now really, over $4 billion to PURL, getting us on the track to the 5 billion for the full year,” Rutte announced.
“Putin believes he can outlast us, but we are not going anywhere,” he added, reaffirming the alliance’s long-term commitment.
Rutte condemned Russia’s “reckless behavior,” citing intensified bombardment of Ukrainian cities and energy infrastructure ahead of winter, repeated alleged airspace violations over NATO territory, hybrid attacks, and the deployment of spy ships to map critical undersea cables in the Baltic and North Seas.
Russia has consistently denied any deliberate violations or sabotage activities.
China as a Key Enabler
The ministers also addressed China’s role, with Rutte describing Beijing as “one of the key enablers” of Russia’s war effort through large-scale exports of dual-use goods and components that circumvent Western sanctions.
Looking ahead to the 2026 NATO Summit scheduled for Ankara, Türkiye, Rutte said the alliance’s core priorities remain unchanged: significantly increasing defense investment, rebuilding industrial capacity at wartime tempo, and ensuring Ukraine receives everything it needs to withstand the coming winter and continue resisting Russian aggression.
The Brussels meeting concluded with allies agreeing to accelerate work on new defense plans that assume a potential high-intensity conflict with Russia within the next decade, as well as measures to protect critical undersea infrastructure and counter hybrid threats.
