By Gergana Krasteva
12/12/2025
Source
Each of the 32 Nato member countries – including Britain – must prepare for a war on a scale ‘our grandparents and great-grandparents endured’.
Nato chief Mark Rutte today urged allies to step up their defence efforts to prevent a war waged by Russia.
In a speech in Berlin, he said too many allies do not feel the urgency of the 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.
‘We are Russia’s next target. I fear that too many are quietly complacent,’ he warned.
‘Too many don’t feel the urgency. And too many believe that time is on our side. It is not. The time for action is now.
‘Conflict is at our door. Russia has brought war back to Europe. And we must be prepared.’
It was only last month that General Sir Richard Barrons warned that the UK needs to be ready for a long war – but with the speed of production, ‘at best, we will be quite ready in about 10 years’.
Ever since the end of the Cold War,the government has not invested in the ‘things it needs for a long war,’ instead leaving them to ‘wither’.
The ex-commander of the Joint Forces warned that UK institutions are still operating on the complacent peacetime assumption that protracted wars do not happen anymore.
Amid Rutte’s warning for a looming war, another ‘Coalition of the Willing’ call is set to begin this afternoon.
Volodymyr Zelensky is due to hold urgent talks with leaders and officials from about 30 countries that support Ukraine’s efforts to end the full-scale invasion on somewhat of fair terms.
The leaders of Germany, Britain and France are among those expected to take part in the meeting.
The Ukrainian president indicated the talks were hastily arranged to avoid getting boxed in by Donald Trump, whose relationship with Russia is only flourishing in recent weeks amid his support for Putin’s regime.
In a post on X, he said: ‘We continue to communicate with all our partners on a daily basis, virtually 24/7, to identify doable and realistic steps to bring the war to an end.
‘Everything must be reliable and dignified for Ukraine.’
In the face of Trump’s demands for a swift settlement, Europe us trying to help steer the peace negotiations because they say their own security is at stake.