Russia produces as much ammunition in three months as NATO does in a year, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has warned.
Speaking at the Chatham House think tank in London on Monday, Rutte called on the alliance to urgently ramp up weapons production.
“In terms of ammunition, Russia produces in three months what the whole of NATO produces in a year,” he said.
“Russia is reconstituting its forces with Chinese technology and producing more weapons faster than we thought,” Rutte added.
He called for a “quantum leap” in how Europe defends itself, and said, “We must have more forces and capabilities to implement our defense plans in full.”
Rutte said Russia was expected to produce 1,500 tanks, 3,000 armored vehicles, and 200 Iskander missiles in 2025.
Russia has massively ramped up its weapons and ammunition production to fuel its war against Ukraine, placing its economy on a war footing.
It’s received support from allies including China, Iran, and North Korea.
Russia spent 13.1 trillion rubles, around $145.9 billion, on its military last year, a report by the International Institute for Strategic Studies said. This is equivalent to 6.7% of the country’s gross domestic product and a 41% annual increase in real terms, per the report.
European defense spending was $457 billion last year, the report said, a real-terms increase of almost 12% on the year before and a 50% increase in real terms from 2014 spending levels. If purchasing power parity is factored in, then Russia’s expenditure is equivalent to around $461.6 billion, the report said.
The US is NATO’s largest military power, and President Donald Trump has pressured European members to boost their military budgets. Rutte has backed US calls to raise the amount NATO members are required to spend on their military from 2% to 5%.
The war in Ukraine has become a gruelling war of attrition, with both sides firing thousands of rounds of ammunition daily.
But Ukraine’s NATO allies have struggled to increase production to provide arms to Ukraine while rebuilding their stockpiles, amid warnings that Russia could be preparing to attack NATO in a matter of years.
“We are all on the eastern flank now. The new generation of Russian missiles travels at the speed of sound. The distance between European capitals is only a matter of minutes. There is no longer east or west. There is just NATO,” Rutte added.
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