NATO will unleash ' full force if Russia attacks 'Poland or other ally '.

NATO will unleash 'full force if Russia attacks 'Poland or other ally'.

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte has issued a stark warning to Vladimir Putin, promising a 'devastating' response should Russia launch any attack on Poland or another member state.

'If anyone were to miscalculate and think they can get away with an attack on Poland or on any other ally, they will be met with the full force of this fierce alliance. Our reaction will be devastating,' the bloc's chief declared in Warsaw today.

This has to be very clear to Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin and anyone else who wants to attack us,' he concluded in comments delivered alongside Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk. 

Rutte's unequivocal statement comes as nations along the eastern flank of the 32-member alliance, particularly Poland and the Baltic states, expressed concern that US-Russia talks on ending the war in Ukraine could offer Putin a favorable settlement.

They fear such an outcome would allow the Russian President to rebuild his country's forces and threaten other countries in the region in the coming years.

Such fears are compounded by the knowledge that the American security blanket on European leaders have relied for decades could be swiftly snatched away by US President Donald Trump.

Trump said during a recent meeting with Rutte at the White House that he does not believe that a peace settlement for Ukraine would lead to Russia attacking other countries.

But Rutte has in the past warned that Russia could be capable of launching an attack again on European soil by the end of the decade.

'Let's not forget that Russia is and is remaining the most significant and dark threat to our alliance. Let's not forget that Russia is moving into a wartime economy, and that will have a huge impact on their capacity and capability to build their armed forces,' Rutte said Wednesday.

Recent weeks have seen European leaders announce dramatic spending plans designed to kickstart the continent's defense-industrial base after years of cuts. 

Sweden is set to increase defense spending by about 300 billion kronor ($30 billion) over the next decade, the prime minister said today, describing the move as the 'biggest rearmament push since the Cold War'.

The Nordic country drastically slashed its defense spending toward the end of the 20th century but reversed course following Moscow's 2014 annexation of Crimea.

The aim was to increase defense spending to 3.5 percent of GDP by 2030, up from the 2.4 percent the country currently spends.

'We have a completely new security situation... and uncertainties will remain for a long time,' Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson told reporters, adding it marks Sweden's 'biggest rearmament since the Cold War'.

The Nordic country dropped two centuries of military non-alignment and applied for membership in NATO in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine - becoming the 32nd member in March 2024.

Sweden has already decided on investments that are expected to put defense spending at 2.6 percent of GDP in a few years, Kristersson said while noting this already put it well above NATO's two percent spending target.

'That is not enough,' Kristersson said. 'Our assessment is that NATO and especially European NATO countries need to take major steps in the coming years.'

The announcement comes less than a week after Germany's parliament approved a historic spending bill that aims to revive growth in Europe's largest economy and scale up the military.

Ending decades of German fiscal conservatism, the legislation creates a €500 billion fund to spend on infrastructure and eases strict borrowing rules set in place after the 2008 global financial crisis to allow higher spending on defense.

German lawmakers said Russian aggression and doubts over the US' commitment to uphold European security were the primary drivers of the historic move.  

'The threat from the East, from Moscow, is still present, while the support from the West is no longer what we were once accustomed to,' said Bavarian Premier Markus Soeder.

'I am a convinced trans Atlanticist, but the relationship of trust in the United States of America has, at least for me and for many others, been deeply shaken. The Germans are worried.'

'Let´s be honest: Germany has, in part, been run into the ground over the course of decades,' said Berlin mayor Kai Wegner. 'Our infrastructure has, in recent years, been more managed than actively developed.'

'For far too long, we´ve only done the bare minimum - and it cannot, must not, continue this way,' he said.

The statement "For far too long, we've only done the bare minimum - and it cannot, must not, continue this way" expresses a strong dissatisfaction with the current state of affairs, implying that a significant change or improvement is necessary and that the current level of effort is insufficient.

( msn.com )