NATO secretary general warns Russia could target alliance members next amid rising tensions

NATO

NATO secretary general warns Russia could target alliance members next amid rising tensions

Mark Rutte calls for urgent defense spending boost as Russia grows bolder

Ashley Carnahan Fox News

Published

December 11, 2025 2:21pm EST

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NATO chief warns alliance is ‘Russia’s next target’

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte warned members of the 32-member transatlantic alliance about Russia’s ambitions.

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NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte warned members of the transatlantic alliance on Thursday that they could be Russia’s next target.

Rutte, delivering a keynote address at the Bavarian State Representation, hosted by the Munich Security Conference in Germany, evoked the night the Berlin Wall fell as a reminder of the power of unity.

"The dark forces of oppression are on the march again. I'm here today to tell you where NATO stands and what we must do to stop a war before it starts. And to do that, we need to be crystal clear about the threat. We are Russia's next target. And we are already in harm's way," he said.

NATO members committed in June to increase defense spending to 5% of gross domestic product by 2035, heeding President Donald Trump’s calls to take more steps to bolster its security.

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NATO leaders pose for a photo at the 2025 summit

NATO leaders pose in this shot taken in June. Military leaders are meeting in Washington Tuesday evening to discuss securities options for Ukraine. (REUTERS/Claudia Greco)

Rutte told attendees that the move wasn’t a moment for self-congratulations as Russia continues its large-scale drone and missile attacks on Ukraine.

"I fear that too many are quietly complacent. 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," he said.

The NATO chief urged allies to boost defense spending and production, saying their armed forces must have the resources needed to protect their homelands, and cautioning that Moscow could be ready to use military force against NATO within five years.

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A Polish soldier sits inside a military tank with a NATO flag visible in the background.

A Polish Army soldier sits in a tank as a NATO flag flies behind during the NATO Noble Jump VJTF exercises on June 18, 2015, in Zagan, Poland. (Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

"We must all accept that we must act to defend our way of life, now. Because this year, Russia has become even more brazen, reckless and ruthless towards NATO and towards Ukraine," Rutte added. "During the Cold War, President Reagan warned about the aggressive impulses of an evil empire. Today, President Putin is in the empire building business again."

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Poland accused Russia of being responsible for a railway blast on its Warsaw-Lublin line in November.

A passenger train halted on a cordoned railway line as authorities investigate an explosion site.

A Koleje Mazowieckie train sits on the tracks with police tape nearby as Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk visits the site of a blast on the Warsaw-Lublin line in Mika, Poland, Nov. 17, 2025. (KPRM/Handout via REUTERS)

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Prime Minister Donald Tusk said an investigation into the incident found that Russian Secret Services "commissioned the blast of the Polish railway and recruited two Ukrainians to do it."

The railway blast was the latest in a string of security incidents in Eastern Europe, following airspace incursions in September that saw Russian drones enter Poland and three MiG-31 fighter jets cross into Estonia before being intercepted by NATO aircraft.

Ashley Carnahan is a writer at Fox News Digital.

NATO secretary general warns Russia could target alliance members next amid rising tensions