Russia could attack a NATO member state within the next five years, the head of the Western military alliance has warned during a visit to Berlin.
“Russia is already intensifying its covert campaign against our societies,” Mark Rutte said in a speech in Germany.
“We must be prepared for the scale of war that our grandparents or great-grandparents experienced,” he added.
He repeated similar warnings from Western intelligence agencies about Russia’s intentions—claims that Moscow dismisses as hysteria.
Rutte’s warning comes as U.S. President Donald Trump is attempting to end Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, launched in February 2022.
Earlier this month, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that his country does not plan to go to war with Europe, but is “immediately ready” if Europe wants—or starts—a war.
Similar assurances were also given by Moscow in 2022, just before 200,000 Russian troops crossed the border and invaded Ukraine.
Putin has accused European countries of obstructing U.S. efforts to bring peace to Ukraine—a reference to Ukraine’s European allies who have recently tried to alter a U.S. peace plan seen as initially favorable to Russia.
But Putin was not being truthful, NATO’s secretary-general said in the German capital, Berlin.
Support for Ukraine, he added, is a guarantee of European security.
“Just imagine if Putin achieved his goal: Ukraine under the boot of Russian occupation, his forces pushing along an even longer border with NATO, and a significantly increased risk of an armed attack against us.”
