NATO must get on ‘wartime mindset,’ military alliance chief urges

NATO's secretary-general said as the U.S. proceeds on Ukraine peace talks with Russia, the alliance will work to ensure Moscow never tries to attack Ukraine again.

The chief of NATO says the military alliance needs to shift to a “wartime mindset.”

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said on Thursday that members recognize “the need to invest much more,” making the comments after the U.S. told members the day earlier that Europe must “own responsibility for its own security,” including support for Ukraine.

“We are producing more and faster than at any time in decades, but we can and must do more to ensure the credibility of our returns in defence for years to come,” Rutte said.

“We need to shift to a wartime mindset and we need industry to shift with us. The demand signals are clear and they’ll continue to grow.”

Rutte, who spoke after a meeting of alliance defence ministers, said he believed the officials would return to each of their countries with a “greater sense of urgency” to ramp up spending.

His comments came a day after U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth repeated calls from U.S. President Donald Trump that more investment needs to be made by other NATO allies.

“The United States remains committed to the NATO alliance and to the defence partnership with Europe. Full stop,” Hegseth said.

“But the United States will no longer tolerate an imbalanced relationship which encourages dependency. Rather, our relationship will prioritize empowering Europe to own responsibility for its own security.”