Europe must prepare for a conflict with Russia “on the scale our grandparents endured”, Nato’s secretary general has said in a stark warning to the West.
Tensions have been escalating across the continent in recent weeks, following a spate of drone incursions into Nato airspace and a chilling statement by Russian president Vladimir Putin that his country is “ready for war right now” if Europe wants it.
“We are Russia’s next target. And we are already in harm’s way,” Mark Rutte said in a speech in Berlin on Thursday.
“Russia has brought war back to Europe, and we must be prepared for the scale of war our grandparents and great-grandparents endured.”
Insisting on an immediate and rapid boost of defence spending as a deterrent, he added: “Conflict is at our door.”
Mr Rutte suggested that Russia could use military force against Nato within the next five years, and that Europe is not ready.
“I fear that too many are quietly complacent,” he cautioned. “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 defence spending and production must rise rapidly. Our armed forces must have what they need to keep us safe.”
In a scathing attack on Russia’s leader, he added: “Putin is paying for his pride with the blood of his own people. And if he is prepared to sacrifice ordinary Russians in this way, what is he prepared to do to us?”
His comments came as talks to end Russia’s war on Ukraine have struggled to gain momentum, and after the Trump administration indicated that it expects Europe to be less dependent on the US for its security.
On Thursday, Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky said he had presented the US with a revised 20-point peace plan to end the conflict.
The notion of Ukraine giving up territory to Russia has been a key sticking point, but the Americans have now put forward the possibility of a “free economic zone” in the Donbas.
US negotiators foresee Ukrainian forces withdrawing from the Donetsk region, with the compromise being that Russian forces do not enter that territory, Mr Zelensky said. He stressed that any decision about ceding territory would have to go to a referendum.
“We have two key points of disagreement: the territories of Donetsk and everything related to them, and the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. These are the two topics we continue to discuss,” Mr Zelensky told reporters on Thursday.
Germany’s chancellor Friedrich Merz emphasised that the matter of territory remains “a question that must be answered primarily by the Ukrainian president and the Ukrainian people”, adding that he had “made this clear to President Trump”.
However, Russia’s foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, accused Europe of disrupting efforts to reach a long-term peace deal by focusing on their wish for a ceasefire in the short term.
“Our talks with the president of the United States are dedicated to just that – the search for a long-lasting resolution to eliminate the root causes of this conflict,” Mr Lavrov said.
Donald Trump’s sympathies for Ukraine appear to have been cooling of late, and in an interview on Tuesday he expressed frustration at a “weak” and “decaying” Europe, hinting that he could abandon the talks altogether.
Reports have claimed that Mr Trump has given Mr Zelensky a deadline of Christmas to accept a peace deal, though Washington has denied this.
Days of consultation have taken place with European allies, including UK prime minister Sir Keir Starmer, French president Emmanuel Macron, and Chancellor Merz, who held a phone call with Mr Trump on Wednesday.
The Ukraine conflict continues to present a wider issue for Europe, with a number of countries accusing Russia of inflicting “hybrid warfare” on their territory.
Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia, Denmark, Norway, Poland and Romania have all reported disruptions in their airspace in recent weeks. On Tuesday, British foreign secretary Yvette Cooper warned that cyber attacks pose an “escalating” danger to the UK and Europe.
The US, meanwhile, has ramped up tensions with Venezuela, with the seizure on Thursday of an oil tanker it that claimed was being used to transport sanctioned fuel.
Venezuela’s leader, Nicolas Maduro, has accused the US of “fabricating” a conflict in order to exploit his country’s natural resources, including oil, while US politicians have raised concerns that Mr Trump is “sleepwalking” into war with Venezuela.
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