‘Prepare for war’: NATO’s Rutte warns allies they are Russia’s next target and it could happen in five years

NATO chief Mark Rutte has urged allies to step up defence efforts to prevent a war waged by Russia, that could be “on the scale of war our grandparents and great-grandparents endured”.

In a speech in Berlin, Rutte said too many allies of the military alliance did not feel the urgency of Russia’s threat in Europe and that they must rapidly increase defence spending and production to prevent a war on the scale of that seen by past generations.

“We are Russia’s next target. I fear that too many are quietly complacent. 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,” Rutte said.

“Conflict is at our door. Russia has brought war back to Europe. And we must be prepared,” he added.

Russia could be ready to use military force against NATO within five years, Rutte said.

His chilling warning came as Ukraine presented the United States with a revised 20-point framework to end its war with Russia, with the issue of ceding territory remaining a major sticking point in negotiations.

Ukraine, in the latest round of frantic shuttle diplomacy, is seeking to balance out a 28-point US-backed plan whose original version was seen as too favourable to Russia.

Speaking to reporters in Kyiv, Mr Zelensky said the US is offering as a compromise to create a “free economic zone” in the Ukraine-controlled parts of the eastern Donbas which Russia has demanded that Ukraine cede.

“They see it as Ukrainian troops withdrawing from the Donetsk region, and the compromise is supposedly that Russian troops will not enter this part of Donetsk region. They do not know who will govern this territory,” he said, adding that Russia is referring to it as a “demilitarised zone”.

— with AP