3rd Day Rutte Next Stop Moscow | 4 Oct 2024 |
Washington DC foreign policy run by rightwing think tanks for decades ...
NATO must switch to a wartime mindset, warns secretary general | BBC News - 22 Dec. 2024 |
The head of Nato has said it is time to "shift to a wartime mindset", as he warned the military alliance's members were not spending enough to prepare for the threat of a future conflict with Russia.
Secretary general Mark Rutte said Moscow was "preparing for long-term confrontation with Ukraine and with us", describing the current security situation as the worst in his lifetime.
"We are not ready for what is coming our way in four to five years," he said in his first major speech since becoming secretary general in October, urging members to "turbocharge" their defence spending.
His comments come weeks before president-elect Donald Trump takes office, having previously suggested the US would not protect NATO allies that were failing to spend enough on defence.
Announcing the prospect of Ramstein Summit Trump style ...
Mark a smooth talker, won't deliver what he had promised.
NATO chief assesses Ramstein's prospects and hopes for new aid packages to Ukraine
The Ramstein format assumes that Ukraine will receive what it needs to fight Russian aggression. New aid packages may be announced in the coming days, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte says during a press conference before the Ramstein meeting.
"What the Ramstein format secures doing is making sure that allies and other countries outside of NATO commit to make sure that Ukraine has what it needs, particularly support with complete material to fight the war against Russia," Rutte says.
He adds that he had already mentioned some of the large aid packages in recent weeks in Canada, Sweden, the Netherlands, and France.
"And no doubt, I hope today and also coming days you will see new announcements coming out," the NATO Secretary General adds.
The mindset of a dark triad psychopath compared to an elderly mumbling warrior ... refreshing really LMAO ... what a sad state of global affairs in U.S. of A.
Trump takes questions on Russia-Ukraine peace talks in Oval Office | CBS News |
President Trump took questions from reporters Wednesday at the swearing-in of his newly confirmed director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard. Trump said he will probably meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Saudi Arabia for talks on ending the war in Ukraine. CBS News' Ed O'Keefe and Nikole Killion join with analysis.
Trump hates losers ...
They fought for that land, and they lost a lot of soldiers ...
Heavy personnel losses
As of early January 2025, IISS estimates that at least 172,000 Russian troops have been killed, while 611,000 have been wounded. Among the wounded, at least 376,000 suffered severe injuries leading to disability, while 235,000 are expected to recover and return to combat.
Despite these staggering losses, Russia has mobilized approximately 976,000 soldiers through a combination of forced conscription in occupied Donbas, the 2022 mobilization campaign, and prison recruitment programs.
As of late December 2024, up to 617,000 Russian troops were deployed in Ukraine or stationed nearby, including those recovering from injuries and undergoing training.
