NATO chief warns UK about risks of underfunding defense
Photo: Mark Rutte warned Britain about the Russian threat (Getty Images)
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has advised Britons to learn Russian if the UK government does not increase defense spending, The Telegraph reports.
During a speech in London, journalists asked Rutte whether the UK Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves, should increase defense spending.
"If you do not go to the 5 per cent, including the 3.5 per cent for defence spending, you could still have the NHS…the pension system, but you better learn to speak Russian. That’s the consequence," he warned.
In London, Rutte met with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, with whom he discussed the large-scale Russian attack on Ukraine, which forced Poland to scramble fighter jets.
"We see in Ukraine how Russia delivers terror from above, so we will strengthen the shield that protects our skies," Rutte said.
He added that NATO needs to strengthen its air and missile defense, as the alliance's member states are located on the eastern flank, on the border with Russia. Rutte warned that the distance between European capitals is only a few minutes for Russian missiles.
Russia's threat to NATO
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has been pressuring allies for weeks to increase defense and security spending by up to 5% to appease US President Donald Trump, who has previously threatened to withdraw US troops from Europe.
On June 9, Rutte said that NATO member states plan to increase air and anti-tank defense by 400%. He warned that NATO members need to make a significant leap in collective defense due to the threat from Russia.
The NATO secretary general also said that Russia produces as much ammunition in three months as the countries of the bloc do in a year. He warned that if they do not act now, NATO states will be under threat in 4-5 years.
