Russia produces as much ammunition in three months as NATO manages to produce in an entire year, which represents a serious risk for the alliance, said NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on June 9th at the Chatham House Institute in London.
“The capacity of (Vladimir) Putin’s war machine is accelerating, not slowing down. Russia is rebuilding its forces with Chinese technology and is producing more weapons faster than we expected,” said Rutte.
Rutte’s statement comes amid rising tensions between the NATO alliance and Russia and the increasingly uncertain engagement of the United States (U.S.) regarding European security.
According to Rutte, Russia is rebuilding its military potential with the help of China, Iran, and North Korea. This year, the Russian industrial complex is expected to produce 1.500 tanks, 3.000 armored vehicles, and 200 Iskander-type missiles, the NATO chief said.
“Russia could be ready to use military force against NATO within five years,” Rutte warned. “Let’s not deceive ourselves.”
“We are all now on the eastern flank. A new generation of Russian missiles travels at the speed of sound. The distance between European capitals is measured in minutes. There is no more East and West. There is only NATO,” he added.
When asked whether a long-term ceasefire in the war between Russia and Ukraine would allow Moscow to stockpile even more weapons and thereby increase risks for NATO, Rutte responded: “That is a fact.”
“Our current assessment is that even while the war against Ukraine continues, Russian forces are able to somewhat increase their stockpiles, although that is debatable,” he added.
Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 forced European countries to increase defense spending in order to rebuild their military capabilities, which were decimated after decades of disarmament following the Cold War.
This issue is becoming even more urgent after signals that the U.S., as the most powerful military force within NATO, plans to reduce its presence in Europe, as President Donald Trump shifts strategic attention to the Asia-Pacific region.
The head of Ukrainian military intelligence, Oleh Ivashchenko, recently warned that Russia will be able to rebuild its forces in a period of two to four years after the war in Ukraine, which would enable it to launch a new aggression on Europe.
