ISTANBUL
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said Wednesday that the alliance is ramping up weapons production and air defense systems under a new $2.2 billion US-led military support program for Ukraine, while reinforcing measures to protect NATO airspace amid rising drone threats.
Speaking to reporters ahead of a meeting of NATO defense ministers in Brussels, Rutte said allies are “ramping up defense industrial production to make sure that Ukraine is as strong as possible, staying in the fight.”
He said ministers would also address recent drone incidents and steps to strengthen NATO’s air defenses. “This will be an important day,” he added.
Rutte noted that the day’s discussions would include a NATO-Ukraine Council session with Ukrainian Defense Minister Denys Shmyhal and a Ukraine Defense Contact Group, chaired by German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius and the UK's John Healey.
He highlighted the new US-led program launched in August, through which allies have already committed $2.2 billion in lethal and non-lethal military aid to Kyiv.
“This includes air defense systems and interceptors, crucial to protect Ukraine’s civilian population and infrastructure from the continuous Russian onslaught,” he said.
Rutte stressed that the EU and NATO are working closely together, saying there is “no duplication of efforts.”
"This combination is crucial, and Russia has not succeeded in dividing us,” he noted.
On Russian airspace violations, Rutte underlined that NATO remains fully capable of defending allied territory.
“If a Russian aircraft enters NATO airspace and poses a threat, we will act. If not, it will be escorted out. A strong alliance knows when to act firmly and when to de-escalate,” he said.
He added that NATO continues to learn from Ukraine’s battlefield experience and adapt new technologies in drone defense.
“We’ve been doing this for 60 or 70 years, we did it with the Soviets, and we continue doing it with the Russians,” he said.
Rejecting claims that allied military aid has declined, Rutte said assistance levels remain steady compared to last year.
“The Russians thought they would win this war in three weeks. Now, nearly four years later, they have lost 1 million people, killed or seriously wounded, and gained only minimal territory,” he said.
- Rutte thanks Trump for leadership
During remarks alongside US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Rutte thanked US President Donald Trump and his team for their “leadership” in strengthening NATO and ensuring fairer burden-sharing across the alliance.
“This will be an important meeting because we had a successful summit, and there is now much more cash on the table, that is firepower coming out of our defense industry,” Rutte said.
“We are doing everything collectively to keep Ukraine strong. But I particularly want to thank President Trump and you personally for your leadership. NATO is now much stronger and more lethal.”
Referring to the decision taken at The Hague Summit, Rutte said the move to “equalize defense spending between the EU, Canada, and the US” was historic.
“Since (US) President Eisenhower, there was always this expectation that European allies and Canada would step up. We did that thanks to your leadership,” he said.
He also praised Washington’s decision to deliver new aid to Kyiv under the US-led $2.2 billion program, paid for by NATO allies.
“Many new announcements are expected today from countries joining this program,” Rutte added.
Hegseth, in his part, welcomed the progress made within NATO, emphasizing that increased commitments by allies would soon translate into concrete military capabilities.
“It was a historic summit, brought about by the leadership of President Trump, who said we need our allies to step up, and they did,” he said.
“Those commitments will now translate into capabilities, which is the most important aspect of it.”
He cited the Pearl Initiative, which enables European countries to jointly procure and transfer weapons to NATO forces supporting Ukraine.
“Peace through strength, that’s what we’ve learned under President Trump,” Hegseth said.
Praising recent US diplomatic efforts, Hegseth added: “The world is seeing we have a peace president who seeks peace by standing with those who stand with the United States and for peace, as we’ve seen in Gaza and throughout the Middle East.”
