In recent years, it has become clear that Russia poses a significant threat. It produces as many munitions in three months as the entire NATO bloc does in a year.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte made this statement during a press conference following the meeting of defense ministers of NATO member states in Brussels.
“The past few years have shown that change is absolutely essential. There is a major threat from Russia, especially since 2022 when it launched its full-scale war against Ukraine. Of course, it all began in 2014, but the real carnage, the massacre, started in 2022,” Rutte said.
He added that despite having a much weaker economy than NATO, Russia produces in three months the amount of ammunition that the entire Alliance produces in a year.
“How much ammunition they’re producing — that’s the foundation of everything. In just three months, they produce what we, all of NATO, produce in a year. And that’s with an economy 25 times smaller than ours,” the Secretary General stressed.
He emphasized that NATO countries must begin preparing now for potential aggression from Russia and increase their defense spending.
“If we don’t act now, everything may seem fine over the next three years. But we must start today, because otherwise, in four or five years, we’ll be under threat,” Rutte warned.
