NATO head Mark Rutte warned the US-led transatlantic alliance on Thursday that it was not ready for the threats it would face from Russia in the coming years and called for a shift to a wartime mindset - with much higher defense spending.

"We’re as close as we’ve been to war with Russia since the Second World War [and] we announce a half billion cut in our conventional defence. It was the lack of conventional defence that encouraged Putin to invade Ukraine in the first place", he said.

New NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte warned Europe Thursday that Russia's Vladimir Putin wants to "wipe Ukraine off the map" and might come for other parts of Europe next. "It is time to shift to a wartime mindset," Rutte said at the Carnegie Europe think tank in Brussels, in his first major speech since taking NATO's helm in October.

Nato chief Mark Rutte issued a stark warning on Dec 12 to “turbocharge” defence spending, saying European nations were not prepared for the threat of future war with Russia. “We are not ready for what is coming our way in four to five years,

Governments need to make more orders and defense contractors have to take more risks, NATO’s secretary-general said.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said on Thursday the alliance needs to shift to a "wartime mindset" in the face of increased aggression from Russia and new threats from China. The NATO chief called on the alliance to "turbocharge" defence production and spending during a speech at a think tank event in Brussels aimed at launching a debate on military investment.

A new NATO command in the German city of Wiesbaden has taken up its work to coordinate Western military aid for Ukraine, the alliance's Secretary-General Mark Rutte said on Wednesday.

(AP Photo/Virginia Mayo) BRUSSELS (AFP) — NATO chief Mark Rutte issued a stark warning Thursday to "turbo-charge" defense spending, saying European nations were not prepared for the threat of future war with Russia. "We are not ready for what is coming ...

Ukraine must have “positional strength” in peace negotiations with Russia, otherwise, Russian President Vladimir Putin could “come out on top” and secure a deal that is awful for Ukraine, Rutte said, adding that the Russian example could encourage China to take advantage of Taiwan.

During Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's visit to Brussels, NATO leader Mark Rutte urged member states on Wednesday to ramp up their military backing of Kyiv to improve Ukraine's standing over the next month.

Call it shadow or hybrid, everything points to war and the reluctance to call it that comes from decades of complacency on security.