Panicking NATO considers raising defence spending as chief warns ‘we’re not ready for what’s coming’ in fresh WW3 alert as Trump threatens to pull out of the alliance and Putin gets upper hand in Ukraine

NATO members are urgently discussing increasing their defense spending to 3 percent of gross domestic product, amid new fears about global threats and as Donald Trump threatens to withdraw from the alliance upon his return to the White House.

It comes as the head of the defense alliance today warned that the country will be unprepared for the threats Russia will face in the coming years if it does not switch to a war mentality now.

“Russia is preparing for a long-term confrontation, with Ukraine and with us,” NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said during a speech in Brussels. “We are not yet ready for what will come our way in four to five years.”

He said the time has come when the alliance will “boost our defense production and defense spending,” adding that the current security situation is the worst he has seen in his life.

Confidential preliminary talks took place this week on increasing the alliance’s target increase of 2 percent of GDP, a measure that could be implemented at the annual summit in the Netherlands in June next year, according to the Financial Times.

President-elect Trump has argued that Europe should pay more for its own defense, after saying he would consider withdrawing the US from NATO if targets were not met.

During his first presidency, Trump demanded more spending at the 2018 NATO summit, with leaders vowing to meet the 2 percent target.

But the increase in spending only came in response to Russia’s war against Ukraine, with non-US NATO members increasing their spending by about $100 billion over the past two years.

While the alliance collectively achieves the spending target, approximately one-third of the members independently do not achieve the target.

This year, only 23 of the 32 allies are expected to meet or exceed the 2 percent target.

Seven European countries, including Italy and Spain, still fall short of the benchmark first implemented in 2014.

Three people involved in the talks also told the FT they have a short-term pledge to reach 2.5 percent by 2030, and a target of 3 percent.

Further increasing spending will pose a challenge for several European countries, including Britain, Spain, Italy, Germany and France.

Britain expects to spend around 2.3 percent of GDP on defense this year, and the government has confirmed it will increase that to 2.5 percent.

NATO’s founding principle is that an attack on one member is an attack on all.

Mr Rutte has previously said he would push for a target that would be “much more” than the current benchmark.

He pointed to what he called a “coordinated campaign to destabilize our societies,” including cyber attacks and assassination attempts orchestrated by foreign powers.

The NATO chief added that the West must keep its eyes open to China’s ambitions and threats towards Taiwan and warned that Beijing is building up its forces “without transparency or restrictions.”

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Zelensky has pushed for membership in the bloc as his country tries to ensure its future security.

The possibility of Kiev joining the alliance and Western troops being stationed on Ukrainian territory has been deeply divisive and controversial since Russia’s full-scale invasion began on February 24, 2022.

At their Washington summit in July, NATO declared that Ukraine was on an “irreversible” path to membership, but did not invite the country.

The US and Germany have protested against Ukraine joining NATO while at war with Russia.

One obstacle was the view that Ukraine’s borders would have to be clearly demarcated before the country could join, leaving no doubt as to where the alliance’s mutual defense pact would come into effect.

The Russian invading army occupies about a fifth of Ukraine.

Trump famously said that the war between Russia and Ukraine would never have started if he had been president, claiming he could end the conflict “within 24 hours” – without ever announcing his plans to do so.

“I can’t give you those plans because if I give you those plans, I can’t use them,” he famously said.

In a policy paper published in April, his recently elected envoy Lieutenant General Kellogg acknowledged that a ceasefire for Ukraine would be a bitter pill to swallow, but would ultimately be the fastest way to an end to the bloodshed.

“The Ukrainian government and people will have difficulty accepting a negotiated peace that does not give them back all of their territory or, at least for now, hold Russia responsible for the carnage it inflicted on Ukraine.

“But as Donald Trump said at the CNN town hall in 2023, ‘I want everyone to stop dying.’ That is also our opinion,” the newspaper concludes.

Other members of Trump’s inner circle have also made similar suggestions.

In September, newly elected Vice President JD Vance offered former US Navy Seal Shawn Ryan an outline of how to broker peace in Ukraine under Trump.

“What it probably looks like is that the current demarcation line between Russia and Ukraine becomes a demilitarized zone, heavily fortified, so that the Russians don’t invade again,” Vance told the former Seal on his podcast.

“Ukraine remains an independent sovereign. Russia receives a neutrality guarantee from Ukraine.

‘It does not join NATO and some other allied institutions. Germans and other countries must finance the reconstruction of Ukraine,” Vance added.