Rutte: NATO will defend 'every inch' against Russian nuclear threat

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on Wednesday dismissed Russian nuclear warnings over the Baltic Sea exclave of Kaliningrad, stating the alliance stands ready to defend its territory against any aggression as the war in Ukraine continues.

Russian nuclear warnings

Rutte spoke at the Euronews Defense and Space Summit in Brussels after reports emerged that Moscow had warned the alliance against attempting to isolate its territory between Poland and Lithuania, threatening to deploy its full arsenal including nuclear weapons. The NATO chief declined to confirm the contents of the reported letter but rejected any notion of an imminent threat to the Baltic states, saying "We will defend every inch of NATO territory. That threat is not there, and if anything happens, we are ready to counter it." He added that the alliance remains purely defensive and called on Moscow to cease its nuclear rhetoric and end the war in Ukraine.

War in Ukraine

Rutte said Russian President Vladimir Putin is attempting to distract from mounting casualties on the battlefield, where Moscow is reportedly losing 43,000 troops killed or seriously wounded each month. "Everybody knows that he can never win against NATO. I don't take this seriously," Rutte said, adding that the Russian leader seeks to divide allied governments and shift attention away from what he called an unprovoked war of aggression. "If necessary, of course we will defend ourselves. But the most important thing is this is all happening because the war is not going well for him in Ukraine," he said.

The NATO secretary general emphasized that European nations must develop greater military self-sufficiency rather than depending on Washington to address security challenges, citing recent US operations against Iranian nuclear facilities as an example of capabilities the continent currently lacks. Increased defense spending should enable Europeans to assume broader responsibility for regional security while maintaining Washington's engagement in the alliance, Rutte said. "Still, the US being involved not only in the nuclear sense but also in the conventional sense, but the Europeans taking much, much more responsibility for the defense of this part of NATO," he added.