NATO chief warns that Putin wants long-term confrontation with Europe

BRUSSELS (AP) — NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte warned on Thursday that Russian President Vladimir Putin wants to “wipe Ukraine off the map” and could come after other parts of Europe next, as he urged Europeans to press their governments to ramp up defense spending.

“It is time to shift to a wartime mindset,” Rutte told security experts and analysts at the Carnegie Europe think-tank in Brussels. He said people should gird themselves for the prospect that Russia might try to use “swarms of drones” in Europe as it has to deadly effect in Ukraine.

Putin “is trying to crush our freedom and way of life,” Rutte said. The former Dutch prime minister listed Russia’s attacks on Georgia in 2008, the annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula in 2014, and the all-out invasion launched almost three years ago.

“How many more wake-up calls do we need? We should be profoundly concerned. I know I am,” he said. “Russia is preparing for long-term confrontation. With Ukraine, and with us.”

Rutte’s inaugural speech came just over two months after he took office as NATO’s top civilian official. He has since toured the capitals of the 32 allies, including a visit with President-elect Donald Trump in the United States, NATO’s most powerful ally.

NATO has been a staunch backer of Ukraine and has helped most of its members funnel weapons, ammunition and other support into the country. But Trump’s return, and pledge to end the war quickly, has fueled concern that an unfavorable truce might be forced on Ukraine.

Trump routinely complains that U.S. allies in NATO are not spending enough on defense. Rutte said Russia’s military spending is likely to amount to 7 to 8% of its GDP next year -– far more than any NATO ally –- while its defense industry churns out tanks, armored vehicles and ammunition.

Putin also has the support of allies like China, Iran and North Korea.

Rutte noted that defense spending has risen sharply in Europe, with 23 allies expected to reach NATO’s target of putting 2% of GDP into their military budgets. But he added: “I can tell you, we are going to need a lot more than 2%.”

Rutte listed a series of recent “hostile actions” by Russia against NATO allies, including cyber-attacks, assassinations, an explosion at a Czech ammunition depot, the jamming of radars in the Baltic region to disrupt air traffic, and the “weaponization” of migrants to destabilize Europe.

“These attacks are not just isolated incidents. They are the result of a coordinated campaign to destabilize our societies and discourage us from supporting Ukraine,” he said. “They circumvent our deterrence and bring the front line to our front doors.”

Beyond increased defense spending in Europe, Rutte noted that NATO now has tens of thousands of troops on high readiness should they been needed to defend allied territory.

“With all this, our deterrence is good -– for now. But it’s tomorrow I’m worried about,” he said, and warned that “we are not ready for what is coming our way in four to five years. Danger is moving towards us at full speed.”

“What is happening in Ukraine could happen here too, and regardless of the outcome of this war, we will not be safe in the future unless we are prepared to deal with danger,” Rutte added.

Rutte appealed to governments provide the defense industry with “the big orders and long-term contracts they need to rapidly produce more and better capabilities.” He urged industry to boost production for defenses against drones and other new war tactics.

He added that “freedom does not come for free” to the estimated 1 billion people living in the Euro-Atlantic area.

“If we don’t spend more together now to prevent war, we will pay a much, much, much higher price later to fight it. Not billions, but trillions of euros. That’s if we come out on top, and that’s if we win,” he said.

布鲁塞尔（美联社）——北约秘书长马克·吕特周四警告说，俄罗斯总统弗拉基米尔·普京想要“将乌克兰从地图上抹去”，接下来可能会将目标转向欧洲其他地区。他敦促欧洲人向各自政府施压，增加国防开支。

“现在是时候转变思维模式，进入战时状态了，”吕特在布鲁塞尔卡内基欧洲智库对安全专家和分析人士表示。他说，人们应该做好准备，应对俄罗斯可能像在乌克兰那样，在欧洲使用“无人机群”造成致命后果的情况。

鲁特表示，普京“正试图摧毁我们的自由和生活方式”。这位荷兰前首相列举了俄罗斯2008年对格鲁吉亚的袭击、2014年吞并乌克兰克里米亚半岛以及近三年前发动的全面入侵。

“我们还需要多少次警醒？我们应该深感担忧。我知道我很担忧，”他说。“俄罗斯正在为长期对抗做准备。对抗乌克兰，也对抗我们。”

吕特就任北约最高文职官员仅两个多月后便发表了就职演说。此后，他访问了32个盟国的首都，其中包括访问北约最强大的盟国——美国，并与当选总统唐纳德·特朗普会面。

北约一直是乌克兰的坚定支持者，并帮助其大多数成员国向乌克兰输送武器、弹药和其他援助。但特朗普的回归以及他承诺迅速结束战争，加剧了人们的担忧，即乌克兰可能会被迫接受不利的停火协议。

特朗普经常抱怨美国在北约的盟友在国防上的投入不足。鲁特表示，俄罗斯明年的军费开支可能达到其GDP的7%至8%，远高于任何一个北约盟国，而其国防工业正在源源不断地生产坦克、装甲车和弹药。

普京还得到了中国、伊朗和朝鲜等盟友的支持。

吕特指出，欧洲的国防开支大幅增长，预计23个盟国将达到北约设定的目标，即军费开支占GDP的2%。但他补充说：“我可以告诉你们，我们需要的远远超过2%。”

吕特列举了俄罗斯近期对北约盟国的一系列“敌对行动”，包括网络攻击、暗杀、捷克弹药库爆炸、干扰波罗的海地区的雷达以扰乱空中交通，以及将移民“武器化”以破坏欧洲稳定。

他说：“这些袭击并非孤立事件，而是旨在破坏我们社会稳定、阻止我们支持乌克兰的有组织行动的结果。他们绕过了我们的威慑，将战火烧到了我们家门口。”

除了增加欧洲的国防开支外，吕特还指出，北约目前有数万名士兵处于高度戒备状态，以备保卫盟国领土之需。

“就目前而言，我们的威慑力还不错。但我担心的是明天，”他说道，并警告说，“我们还没有为四五年后即将发生的事情做好准备。危险正全速向我们逼近。”

“乌克兰正在发生的事情也可能发生在我们这里，无论这场战争的结果如何，如果我们不做好应对危险的准备，未来我们都不会安全，”吕特补充道。

吕特呼吁各国政府向国防工业提供“所需的大订单和长期合同，以便他们能够迅速生产出更多更好的装备”。他敦促国防工业加大生产力度，以防御无人机和其他新型战争战术。

他还补充说，对于生活在欧洲-大西洋地区的约10亿人口来说，“自由并非唾手可得”。

他说：“如果我们现在不共同投入更多资金来防止战争，将来我们将付出更高的代价去打仗。不是几十亿欧元，而是几万亿欧元。这还是在我们最终获胜的情况下。”