NATO calls for 400% increase in alliance defense: 'We need a quantum leap in our collective defense'

This Monday, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte called for a "400% increase" in the alliance's air and missile defense in response to the threat from the Kremlin.

"We see in Ukraine how Russia sows terror from the sky, so we will strengthen the shield that protects our skies," Rutte said in a speech to the Chatham House think tank in London, according to a statement picked up by AFP.

To maintain credible deterrence and defense, he noted that NATO needs "a 400% increase in its air and missile defense."

Rutte addressed the issue ahead of the upcoming NATO summit later this month in the Netherlands.

"The danger will not disappear even when the war in Ukraine is over," Rutte said.

"We need a qualitative leap in our collective defense. We must have more forces and capabilities to fully embrace our defense plans," the NATO secretary added.

"Our Armed Forces also need thousands of armed vehicles and tanks, and millions more artillery shells," he said.

Rutte is pushing for alliance members to increase their defense spending to 3.5% of GDP, and earmark another 1.5% for broader security-related spending to meet Donald Trump's demand for a 5% total.

Last month, NATO's secretary general said he assumed that target would be agreed at the upcoming summit in The Hague on June 24-25.

Russia slams NATO 'aggression' over air defence spending call

Russia on Monday slammed NATO as an "instrument of aggression" ahead of an expected call from the alliance's chief Mark Rutte for a 400-percent increase in air defence spending.

NATO "is demonstrating itself as an instrument of aggression and confrontation," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters when asked about the plans, which Rutte was scheduled to announce on a visit to London on Monday.