Moscow: Nato an instrument of aggression and confrontation. Rutte confirms Ukraine in Nato

'Nato needs to increase its air and missile defence by 400%'. That is the message that Atlantic Alliance Secretary General Mark Rutte will deliver this afternoon when he addresses a Chatam House think tank event on the priorities to be discussed at the NATO summit on 24 and 25 June. "We need a leap forward in our collective defence," reports a note anticipating Rutte's speech, according to which the overall danger picture "will not disappear with the end of the war in Ukraine". "In the Ukraine, we see how Russia sows terror in the skies, we will strengthen the shield that protects our airspace" is the further indication that will come from the NATO secretary general who in The Hague at the end of the month intends to propose an increase in NATO spending to 5% of GDP for the alliance's member countries, a quota that should be made up of 3.5% from strictly military spending and a further 1.5% for other investments functional to security.

"Now the Atlantic Alliance, having thrown off all masks, is blatantly demonstrating its essence as an instrument of aggression and confrontation": this is how the Kremlin spokesman, Dmitri Peskov, commented on the announced increase in Nato's air and missile defence capability in response to the Russian threat. This was reported by Tass. In response to Nato policies, Russia reserves the right to act freely, to deploy short- and medium-range missiles, which it may use in response to aggressive Nato action close to its borders, the Kremlin spokesman said. "Russia will have to respond to such aggressive actions by Nato and Nato countries, including new Nato members close to our borders. We will certainly reserve the right to act freely and at some point, we will no longer limit our actions," Peskov said, regarding the expiration of the moratorium on the deployment of short- and medium-range missiles where it is most vulnerable in terms of security.

The commitment on Ukraine's "irreversible path to Nato membership is confirmed and will continue to be so after the Hague summit", whether or not it will be "included in the final conclusions is not relevant". This was said by the Secretary General of the Alliance, Mark Rutte, at Chatham House in London. "My goal is for the summit to have concise conclusions: it is not necessary to repeat every sentence or commitment already made, for them to remain valid," Rutte added, stressing that the summit will focus on military "spending and production". Kiev "will be mentioned in the communiqué, but do not expect every paragraph to repeat what has already been said," he added.

Moscow, then, through the mouth of Foreign Minister Lavrov, also raises the tone against Germany, accusing German Chancellor Merz of still having the mentality of Hitler's Germany, which thought it 'needed territory to have access to natural resources'. Lavrov thus commented on Merz's words that Germany will return to having the largest conventional army in Europe and accuses Russia of not wanting to stop at Ukraine but to conquer all of Europe.

Meanwhile, the systematic aggression of the Russian Armed Forces on Ukrainian territory does not stop: last night there were attacks with 20 missiles of various types and a record 479 drones, 460 of which were shot down or neutralised by Kiev's air defences, the Ukrainian Air Force announced on Telegram, as reported by the national media. 19 missiles were also intercepted.