Mark Rutte warns allies to start ramping up preparations "for the scale of war our grandparents or great-grandparents endured".

Ukraine has relinquished its ambition of joining the NATO military alliance in exchange for Western security guarantees as a compromise to end the war with Russia, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said ahead of talks with U.S. envoys in Berlin.

Former Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billström said after the Ukraine war, Europe must be ready for further Russian aggression.

The Kremlin said on Sunday that NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte's remarks about preparing for war with Russia were irresponsible and showed that he did not really understand the devastation wrought by World War Two.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte warned Thursday that members of the alliance could be “Russia’s next target,” calling for a rapid rise in defense spending to prevent a war similar to those seen by past generations.

Estonia has started constructing concrete bunkers along its border with Russia as nations on NATO’s eastern flank rushes to build up land defenses. The Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania signed an agreement in January 2024 to beef up protection along their land borders with Russia and Moscow’s key ally, Belarus.

Amid Russia-Ukraine peace talks, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Kyiv would accept legally binding security guarantees from the United States and other European Nations., World News,

Secretary-General Mark Rutte chastised some allies for moving too slowly when it comes to ramping up defense spending.

Blaise Metreweli said Britain is "operating in a space between peace and war" and that everyone has a responsibility to understand the dangers.

In a speech in Berlin, Rutte said too many allies of the military alliance did not feel the urgency of Russia's threat in Europe and that they must rapidly increase defence spending and production to prevent a war on the scale of that seen by past generations.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday voiced readiness to drop his country's bid to join NATO in exchange for Western security guarantees, but rejected the U.S. push for ceding territory to Russia as he held talks with U.