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NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte warned members of the transatlantic alliance on Thursday that they could be Russia’s next target.
routes, give a keynote speech at the Representation of the State of Bavaria, hosted by the Munich Security Conference in Germany, he evoked the night that the Berlin Wall fell as a reminder of the power of unity.
“The dark forces of oppression are on the march again. I am here today to tell you where NATO stands and what we must do to stop a war before it starts. And to do that, we need to be crystal clear about the threat. We are Russia’s next target. And we are already in harm’s way,” he said.
NATO members pledged in June to increase defense spending to 5% of gross domestic product by 2035, following President Donald Trump‘s call to take more steps to strengthen their security.
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NATO leaders in June. (Reuters/Claudia Greco)
Rutte told attendees the move was not a moment for self-congratulation as Russia continues its large-scale drone and missile attacks. on Ukraine.
“I fear that too many are quietly complacent. Too many do not feel the urgency. And too many believe that time is on our side. It is not. The time for action is now“, he said.
The NATO chief urged allies to increase defense spending and production, saying their armed forces must have the resources needed to protect their homelands, and warning that Moscow could be ready to use military force against NATO within five years.
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A Polish Army soldier stands in a tank as a NATO flag flies behind the NATO VJTF exercise Noble Jump on June 18, 2015, in Zagan, Poland. (Sean Gallup/Getty Images)
“We must all accept that we must act to defend our way of life, now. Because this year, Russia has become even more brazen, reckless and ruthless towards NATO and towards Ukraine,” added Rutte. “During the Cold War, President Reagan warned about the aggressive impulses of an evil empire. Today, President Putin is in the business of building the empire again.”
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Poland accused Russia of being responsible for a railway explosion on its Warsaw-Lublin line in November.
A Koleje Mazowieckie train sits on the tracks with police tape nearby as Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk visits the site of an explosion on the Warsaw-Lublin line in Mika, Poland, November 17, 2025. (Prime Minister’s Office/Dispensary via REUTERS)
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Prime Minister Donald Tusk said an investigation into the incident found that Russian secret services “ordered the explosion of the Polish railway and recruited two Ukrainians to do it”.
The railway blast was the latest in a series of security incidents Eastern Europefollowing airspace incursions in September that saw Russian drones enter Poland and three mig-31 fighters in Estonia before being intercepted by NATO aircraft.
