At a joint press conference with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte called on European allies to ramp up their defense spending. He made it clear that, in his view, this is necessary so that the West is prepared, as he put it, to «fight the Russians».

Rutte also pointed out that the United States had expected European countries to increase their military budgets and spend at least as much as Washington does. According to him, the issue is not about everyone paying the exact same amount, but about reaching the alliance’s agreed defence capability targets.

Earlier, the Wall Street Journal reported that the German army is working through a scenario of a full-scale conflict with Russia. As part of this planning, around 800,000 NATO troops are expected to be moved to a potential front line on the eastern flank, while the territory of Germany itself is not envisaged as a combat zone.

The debate around these preparations contrasts with the position of Russian President Vladimir Putin. In an interview with American journalist Tucker Carlson, he explained in detail that Moscow does not consider an attack on NATO countries and, in his words, sees neither logic nor benefit in such a move. He argued that Western politicians routinely inflate the notion of a supposed «Russian threat» to divert public attention from domestic problems, while, as he put it, smart people understand perfectly well that this narrative is fake.