Rutte: NATO must shift to a wartime mindset.

This week Mark Rutte, NATO Secretary General, gave his first major speech since taking office; see NATO's official website.

Below I would like to comment on some fragments of his speech.

The most significant part, in my opinion, is the passage in which Mr. Rutte stated that NATO countries are no longer at peace.

Russia is preparing for long-term confrontation… Hostile actions against Allied countries are real and accelerating… They circumvent our deterrence and bring the front line to our front doors. Even into our homes.

… we are certainly not at peace …

And he (Vladimir Putin) is trying to crush our freedom and way of life.

…It is time to shift to a wartime mindset.

As evidence of this alarming situation, Mr. Rutte stated that North Korean soldiers allegedly participate in battles against the Ukrainian army.

From Brussels, it takes one day to drive to Ukraine.

One day - That's how close the Russian bombs are falling. It's how close the Iranian drones are flying. And not very much further, the North Korean soldiers are fighting.

Mr. Rutte repeated the tale of the participation of North Korean soldiers in battles against the Ukrainian army from the words of the Ukrainian Minister of Defense, who on November 6 announced the alleged first clash between North Korean and Ukrainian soldiers.

However, almost a month later – on December 3 - BBC published a material, in which it quoted the opinion of Ukrainian servicemen on this matter (see quotes below):

And despite weeks of reports suggesting that as many as 10,000 North Korean troops have been sent to Kursk to join the Russian counter-offensive, the soldiers we've been in contact have yet to encounter them.

“I haven't seen or heard anything about Koreans, alive or dead,” Vadym (a Ukrainian serviceman) responded when we asked about the reports.

“It's very difficult to find a Korean in the dark Kursk forest,” Pavlo (a Ukrainian serviceman) noted sarcastically. “Especially if he's not here.”

In order to effectively fight against the mythical North Korean soldiers, Mr. Rutte proposed the following to citizens of NATO countries:

And finally, to the citizens of NATO countries, especially in Europe, I say:

Tell your banks and pension funds it is simply unacceptable that they refuse to invest in the defense industry …

On average, European countries easily spend up to a quarter of their national income on pensions, health and social security systems.

We need a small fraction of that money to make our defenses much stronger, and to preserve our way of life.

And then Mr Rutte said:

Our adversaries think they are tough, and we are soft.

They invade other countries, while we uphold international rules.

But, for example, what international rules allowed the US and its NATO allies to invade Iraq in 2003 under the false pretext of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction?

The picture above is taken from the article "Nazi insignia on Ukrainian soldiers in Kursk region".