NATO plans to invest in Ukraine's military industry – Rutte
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte emphasized the Alliance's plans to increase investments in its own defense capabilities, in particular, by investing in the Ukrainian defense-industrial base, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) reported in an analytical report dated June 24.
The NATO Secretary General's statements correspond to US President Donald Trump's initiative to have Europe shoulder most of the burden of collective security.
“Rutte called on NATO states to invest in Ukraine's defense industrial base (DIB), which Rutte assessed has an untapped potential of about $35 billion, in order to prevent NATO states from reducing their own stockpiles and to allow NATO states and allies to buy weapons from Ukraine in the future,” the ISW reports.
It is expected that during the NATO summit, countries will agree to introduce a baseline of five percent of GDP for defense spending.
“Rutte stated that NATO's new defense investment plan will include a five-fold increase in investments in NATO air defense capabilities and investments to produce ‘thousands’ more tanks and armored vehicles and millions of artillery ammunition rounds,” the ISW reports.
