Why everyone must read near-apocalyptic warning from Nato chief about war with Putin's Russia

“We need to be crystal clear about the threat. We are Russia’s next target, and we are already in harm’s way... We must be prepared for the scale of war our grandparents or great-grandparents endured. Imagine it, a conflict reaching every home, every workplace, destruction, mass mobilisation, millions displaced, widespread suffering and extreme losses.”

In a speech in Berlin, Nato Secretary-General Mark Rutte spoke in near-apocalyptic terms as he sought to wake up Europe to the very real danger posed by Vladimir Putin’s Russia, saying it was escalating its “covert campaign against our societies” and “could be ready to use military force against Nato within five years”.

“I fear that too many are quietly complacent, and too many don’t feel the urgency, too many believe that time is on our side. It is not, the time for action is now,” he said. “Allied defence 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 – now.”

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Nato Secretary-General Mark Rutte's warning about the threat posed by Putin's Russia could not have been more clear (Picture: Sean Gallup) | Getty Images

UK is ‘not safe’

His words echoed a similar warning by former Nato Secretary-General George Robertson, co-author of the UK’s Strategic Defence Review, earlier this year. Addressing the House of Lords about the review’s findings, he stressed “this country and its people are not safe” because of the state of the UK’s armed forces. “When we say in the report that we are unprepared, it is an understatement,” he warned.

These are terrifying warnings but we should not succumb to fear or, worse, despair. Instead, we must build up the kind of military strength that will deter Putin – whether or not Donald Trump’s USA, an increasingly unreliable ally, is on our side.

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Putin is a warmongering dictator, but he has an instinct for self preservation. Together, the UK and our European allies can see off the theat.

“Listen to the sirens across Ukraine, look at the bodies pulled from the rubble, and think of the Ukrainians who might go to sleep tonight and not wake up tomorrow,” Rutte said. “What is standing between what’s happening to them, and what could happen to us? Only Nato.”