NATO Secretary General implores allies to shift to wartime mindset and spend more on defence

Starting out by noting that Ukraine, where “Russian bombs are falling”, is just a day’s drive from Brussels, Rutte said of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of that country, “Putin is trying to wipe Ukraine off the map. He is trying to fundamentally change the security architecture that has kept Europe safe for decades. And he is trying to crush our freedom and way of life.”

In 2025, the total military spending will be 7 to 8% of GDP, if not more. That’s a third of Russia’s state budget – and the highest level since the Cold War,” he said. “And Russia’s defence industry is producing huge numbers of tanks, armoured vehicles, and ammunition. What Russia lacks in quality, it makes up for in quantity – with the help of China, Iran and North Korea. This all points in one clear direction: Russia is preparing for long-term confrontation: with Ukraine, and with us
https://euro-sd.com/2024/12/major-news/41871/rutte-shift-to-wartime-mindset/

Will the euros listen? Do they have what it takes to defend their borders without the help of uncle sam?

The Euro's wont listen as while alot of them appear to be mindless sheep there are still some analysts capable of pointing to the map of Ukraine which highlights in simple terms to them that Russia has no intention of invading europe.

This is fake. BBC told me 2 years ago that Russians are fighting with shovels and they only have missiles for 3 more months max.

To be honest, i wish some cheeky reporters would troll them with these type of reported 'facts'. Force them to publicly chose between Russia is the big bad wolf or acknowledge that what was peddled was bullshit.

There's not going to be kinetic warfare between NATO and Russia. Right now, tensions are being rhetorically ramped up because the USA is about to switch to an uncertain ally, and because it serves a response to Russia's rhetorical escalations (think of the recent calls by Russia to the USA).

Another important point: there is no political will amongst Europeans to go to war, and the already mostly unpopular European governments don't have the political capital to spend on going to war. They're already struggling to maintain power against growing opposition parties demanding an end to even Ukraine support.

Rutte's statements should be read in the context of a military alliance struggling to both remain politically united and trying to generate more political capital to continue supporting Ukraine. Possibly, there is a renewed push among NATO members to have NATO soldiers fill ancillary roles. I consider this very likely, as NATO soldiers are already training Ukrainian soldiers in Ukraine.

War between Russia and NATO is not impossible. But I consider it highly unlikely. I certainly don't see it happening yet as things currently stand. First, we need to see how Trump actually approaches Ukraine. Trump is extraordinarily unpredictable. It is impossible to guess his behaviors based on his statements. Second, we actually need to see Russia come out on top in a conflict around the globe. They just lost Assad, influence in central Africa is uncertain, and while they're holding up relatively well in Ukraine, achieving their stated war aims was not smooth sailing. Russia is not going to risk escalating to kinetic warfare with NATO.

A final, and maybe most important point: defense ministers have been telling their citizens to get ready for war for multiple years now. The situation is bad, sure, but it has not degraded so thoroughly in the meantime that Oreshniks are about to start falling from the sky in Paris.

This post was edited by Malopox on Dec 14 2024 12:56am

Russians over last few days have pushed the Ukrainians out of a few Kursk towns and apparently the assault has intensified in last few days. Zelensky is now blaming the North Koreans...



In other front news, Kurakhove a key town in southern Donetsk is on the verge of falling, while Velyka Novosilka is close to being surrounded with i believe one operational road in an out left under Ukrainian control. Battle of Pokrovsk is likely to start soon with Russian capturing Shevchenko a few days ago which can be used to setup artillery/staging ground for ground assaults.

This post was edited by ofthevoid on Dec 14 2024 10:02am

Isn’t it impressive that Russians were able to integrate a foreign regiment that speaks a completely alien language and doesn’t speak English so quick into their ranks and are so effective that nobody has seen them yet.

The language barrier and different operating methods make it very likely that Russia is predominantly using the North Koreans to secure positions on the flanks and in the hinterland, where they don't directly engage the enemy, but free up Russian troops which can in turn be deployed to the front lines.

There's still no evidence that NK soldiers are being used. All I've seen is some grainy footage of some soldiers (maybe?) running across a snowy field, who knows where and when. Then subsequently i seen a supposed group of dead NK soldiers, all lined up in a row, again very low quality image, from far away, with no way to even tell if those are bodies or who's bodies.

Both of these shared and spammed but NAFO types.

Not saying they aren't in combat, but there's still nothing convincing shown yet.

honestly, it is irrelevant what the north korean troops are being used for, i see this as a non-issue or red herring.

I disagree with this. It's a big deal (for me at least) because I view this conflict as a brother war between European countries. As long as the best Koreans stay in Russia, I don't care too much, but the moment a best Korean steps foot on European soil with the aim to kill Europeans, my view towards Russia's strategic operations gets extremely negative.

There's just something about non-Europeans getting mixed up in this that just doesn't sit well with me. I feel (pure speculation on my part) that this sentiment is shared with quite a few people in the West, but who knows?