{"id":2520164,"date":"2025-12-11T13:50:02","date_gmt":"2025-12-11T18:50:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/nato-chief-says-europe-is-russias-next-target-and-continent-must-be-prepared-for-world-war\/"},"modified":"2025-12-11T13:51:34","modified_gmt":"2025-12-11T18:51:34","slug":"nato-chief-says-europe-is-russias-next-target-and-continent-must-be-prepared-for-world-war","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/nato-chief-says-europe-is-russias-next-target-and-continent-must-be-prepared-for-world-war\/","title":{"rendered":"NATO chief says Europe is &#8216;Russia&#8217;s next target&#8217; and continent must be prepared for world war"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">32<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fnato-chief-says-europe-is-russias-next-target-and-continent-must-be-prepared-for-world-war%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2520164&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte warned that Europe is &#8220;Russia&#8217;s next target&#8221; following the conflict in Ukraine, emphasizing that NATO member countries are &#8220;already in harm&#8217;s way.&#8221; speaking at the Munich Security Conference in Berlin, Rutte highlighted the urgent need for NATO allies to adopt a &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/michael-goodwin-enough-of-joe-bidens-he-said-xi-said\/\" title=\"Michael Goodwin: Enough of Joe Biden\u2019s \u201cHe said-Xi said\u201d\">wartime mindset<\/a>,&#8221; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/major-china-bill-puts-military-in-a-crunch\/\" title=\"Major China Bill Puts Military in a Crunch\">increase <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/white-house-releases-list-of-president-trumps-accomplishments-and-it-is-historic\/\" title=\"White House Releases List of President ...\u2019s Accomplishments \u2013  And It Is Historic!\">defense spending<\/a><\/a>, and support Ukraine in its defense efforts. He cautioned that Russia could possibly use military force against NATO within five years and pointed to recent acts of sabotage in Eastern Europe and Russian airspace incursions as indicators of escalating tensions.Rutte also stressed the importance of the U.S.-led Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List (PURL) initiative, which has supplied significant military aid to Ukraine. Additionally, he criticized Russia&#8217;s reliance on China and urged continued efforts to pressure President Vladimir Putin to seek peace, while noting that Germany is facilitating talks that may include the U.S. to explore a ceasefire.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">NATO chief says Europe is &lsquo;Russia&rsquo;s next target&rsquo; and continent must be prepared for world war<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2441729\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/nato\/\">NATO<\/a> Secretary General <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/mark-rutte\/\">Mark Rutte<\/a> issued a stern warning to the organization&rsquo;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-ignores-brits-claims-allies-havent-questioned-withdrawal\/\" title=\"Biden Ignores Brits, Claims Allies Haven\u2019t Questioned Withdrawal\">allied nations<\/a> on Thursday, suggesting they stand as &ldquo;Russia&rsquo;s next target&rdquo; after <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/ukraine\/\">Ukraine<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Rutte delivered the sobering message that NATO countries are &ldquo;already in harm&rsquo;s way&rdquo; during a keynote address at a Berlin event hosted by the Munich Security Conference. He equated Ukraine&rsquo;s security with Europe&rsquo;s security and predicted that &ldquo;Russia could be ready to use military force against NATO within five years.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/foreign-policy\/3914956\/ukraine-steps-up-sea-drone-attacks-russia-shadow-fleet\/\">Ukraine steps up sea drone attacks on Russia&#8217;s &#8216;shadow fleet&#8217;<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/3913408\/denmark-labels-us-possible-security-threat-over-uncertainty\/\">Denmark labels US as possible security threat over &#8216;uncertainty&#8217;<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/foreign-policy\/3913018\/marco-rubio-department-type-font-times-new-roman-calibri-anti-dei-move\/\">Rubio reverts State Department-mandated type font to Times New Roman in anti-DEI move<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>&ldquo;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&rsquo;s next target, and we are already in harm&rsquo;s way,&rdquo; Rutte said.<\/p>\n<p>The sentiment of Rutte&rsquo;s address echoed that of his very <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/3259681\/in-times-person-of-the-year-interview-trump-details-plans-to-use-the-military-to-deport-migrants-and-u-s-aid-to-ukraine-to-negotiate-end-of-war\/\">first major address<\/a> as NATO chief one year ago, in which he <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >warned member nations<\/a> that they must shift to a &ldquo;wartime mindset&rdquo; and be willing to hike defense spending to prevent a war with Russia. In his <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=u8WAOGpAhx0\">speech<\/a> on Thursday, Rutte circled back to this message to show the efforts put toward defense spending since his initial call to arms, but warned against complacency.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I fear that too many are quietly complacent, too many don&rsquo;t feel the urgency, and too many believe that time is on our side. It is not, the time for action is now. Allied defense spending and production must rise rapidly, our armed forces must have what they need to keep us safe, and Ukraine must have what it needs to defend itself &mdash; now,&rdquo; Rutte said.<\/p>\n<p>Rutte cited suspected acts of sabotage against <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/3889930\/poland-donald-tusk-explosion-railroad-sabotage\/\">Eastern European infrastructure <\/a>and Russia&rsquo;s <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/3835781\/russia-hybrid-warfare-shocks-europe\/\">airspace incursions<\/a> as reasons to worry about the risk of escalation.<\/p>\n<p>The NATO chief gave several direct nods to the United States, first quoting former President Ronald Reagan when he warned of the &ldquo;aggressive impulses of an evil empire,&rdquo; during the Cold War. Rutte said Putin is &ldquo;empire-building&rdquo; and warned that his attacks against Ukraine have escalated in 2025, while further destroying his own country. Rutte gave another U.S. nod, this time to President Donald Trump&rsquo;s signature &ldquo;Make America Great Again&rdquo; slogan.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Taxes are going up, inflation has skyrocketed, and petrol is rationed. Putin&rsquo;s next presidential campaign slogan should be: &lsquo;Make Russia Weak Again,&#8217;&rdquo; Rutte said.<\/p>\n<p>He said Trump is &ldquo;the only one who can get Putin to the negotiating table,&rdquo; and urged allied nations to continue putting pressure on Russia to see if Putin &ldquo;really wants peace.&rdquo; Rutte also praised the &ldquo;critical&rdquo; success of the Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List, or PURL initiative.<\/p>\n<p>PURL, an initiative based on U.S.-supplied weapons sent to Ukraine that are funded by NATO, was launched over the summer and has supplied three-quarters of Ukraine&rsquo;s Patriot batteries and missiles, according to Rutte. War Secretary Pete Hegseth <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/daily-on-defense\/3852829\/hegseth-nato-war-department-ready-to-impose-costs-on-russia\/\">described<\/a> the $2 billion &ldquo;firepower&rdquo; initiative as one in which &ldquo;European countries buy U.S. weapons transferred to NATO for the fight in Ukraine to bring peace to that conflict.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;PURL is keeping Ukraine in the fight and protecting its population, and I count, indeed, on more allies to contribute to PURL, and to step up support to Ukraine in many other ways,&rdquo; Rutte said.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/3911833\/ukraine-zelensky-trying-keep-us-peace-plan-alive\/\">ZELENSKY TRYING TO KEEP US PEACE PLAN ALIVE AS TRUMP LAMBASTES UKRAINE AND EUROPE<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Rutte also further blasted Putin&rsquo;s war machine, saying Russia could not continue its fight without China&rsquo;s support. <\/p>\n<p>After Rutte spoke with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Thursday, Germany invited the U.S. to join a Berlin meeting next week about a possible ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine, according to <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.eu\/article\/germany-asks-us-join-ukraine-peace-talks-berlin-friedrich-merz\/\"><em>Politico<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>NATO chief warns Europe is Russia&#8217;s next target, urges readiness<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3976,"featured_media":2520166,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/NATO-RUtte.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651,538],"tags":[8447,50459,4280,45645],"class_list":["post-2520164","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","category-washington-examiner","tag-europe","tag-nato-2","tag-russia","tag-world-war"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/NATO-RUtte.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2520164","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3976"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2520164"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2520164\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2520169,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2520164\/revisions\/2520169"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2520166"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2520164"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2520164"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2520164"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}