Russia winning ammunition race over NATO
In an interview with the New York Times on Saturday, Rutte sounded the alarm about Russia's military capabilities, noting that the country is 'reconstituting itself at a pace and a speed which is unparalleled in recent history.'
He said Moscow is 'producing three times as much ammunition in three months as the whole of NATO is doing in a year.'
Rutte pointed to a proposal to boost NATO defense spending to 5% of GDP – a figure US President Donald Trump has been insistent on – with 3.5% going to the core military budgets and another 1.5% earmarked for areas such as cyber defenses and preparing civilian infrastructure. 'Yes, this is an enormous amount of spending. But if we don't, we'll have to learn Russian,' the NATO chief said.
Asked whether the increased defense spending risks fueling an arms race with Russia, Rutte said: 'We have to make sure that the deterrence is there,' noting Russia's heavy investment in tanks, artillery, air defense, and ammunition.
'What I'm particularly worried about is the defense industrial output… because we simply lack the defense industrial base to produce the weapons we need to make sure that we can deter the Russians or the North Koreans or whoever.'
Rutte's comments come amid speculation in Western media and among some officials that Moscow will eventually attack NATO countries. Russian President Vladimir Putin has dismissed the accusation as 'nonsense,' saying Moscow has no interest in invading the US-led bloc.
As the Ukraine conflict rages on, Russia has significantly ramped up defense spending. Last year, Putin stated that Russia's defense industry increased its output of ammunition fourteenfold, drones fourfold, and armored vehicles by 3.5 times since the start of the hostilities. He also said Russia outproduces all NATO countries combined tenfold in missile manufacturing.
In late June, Putin revealed that Russia is spending 13.5 trillion rubles ($151 billion) on defense – around 6.3% of GDP. He acknowledged that the figure is high and has fueled inflation, while noting that the US has spent even more during past conflicts – 14% of GDP during the Korean War and 10% during the Vietnam War.
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