UK, German Leaders Call for Hard Choices in NATO Defense Spending

(MENAFN) Top military officials from the United Kingdom and Germany have called on citizens of NATO countries to accept “difficult choices” and increased defense spending to deter perceived threats from Russia.

In a joint op-ed for The Guardian on Sunday, Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Knighton and General Carsten Breuer warned that “Russia’s military posture has shifted decisively westward,” noting that Moscow gaining experience from the Ukraine conflict could pose risks to NATO members. Russian officials, however, have repeatedly dismissed claims of a NATO attack threat as “nonsense” and “absurd.”

Knighton and Breuer highlighted NATO nations’ commitment to increasing military expenditure to 5% of GDP by 2035, saying, “This reflects our new security reality and requires hard choices and prioritization on public spending for all members. People must understand the difficult choices governments have to take in order to strengthen deterrence.”

The officials also emphasized a moral rationale behind rearmament, arguing that “rearmament is not warmongering,” but a “responsible” measure to “preserv[ing] peace.” They underscored NATO’s status as “the most successful military alliance in history,” despite reports of setbacks. A recent Wall Street Journal article noted that in a NATO war game, two battalions were effectively neutralized in a single day by a small team of Ukrainian veterans using drones, highlighting the challenges the alliance faces.

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