Rutte allowed NATO to lose trillions of dollars from losing Ukraine
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said on Thursday, January 23, at the World Economic Forum in Davos that Ukraine 's loss in the conflict would cost the North Atlantic alliance additional trillions of dollars.
According to him, NATO needs to strengthen its support for Kiev, not weaken it, as the front line is not moving in the direction the alliance seeks.
Rutte stresses that losing Ukraine would lead to NATO facing the need to spend not billions but trillions on defense, far exceeding current commitments and the debate over the alliance's 3% of GDP on defense.
"If Ukraine loses, then to restore deterrence to the rest of NATO, again, it's going to be a much, much higher cost than what we're looking at right now in terms of increasing spending, increasing our spending and industrial production", he said.
Earlier on January 21, US President Donald Trump said NATO should spend more on the Ukraine conflict than Washington because it affects European countries much more. Trump added that the North Atlantic Alliance needs to allocate more funds to "even the score."
Before that, on January 13, Rutte also called on the alliance countries to step up support for Ukraine to change the trajectory of the conflict. According to him, military supplies to Kiev need to be accelerated to ensure the country has a strong negotiating position.
On January 10, Polish Defense Minister Vladyslav Kosiniak-Kamysz said that the situation in Ukraine had upset his colleagues from NATO countries and called it very difficult for the Ukrainian army. In its turn, Reuters wrote on January 9 that the transfer of US weapons did not change the situation on the battlefield in Kiev's favor.
Western countries stepped up military and financial support for Ukraine after the start of Russia's special operation to defend Donbas. The decision to carry it out was announced on February 24, 2022 amid the aggravation of the situation in the region.
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