Tag: nato

Russian Military Instructs China How To Beat US & NATO Weapons

One key trend to have emerged over the course of the Russia-Ukraine war is that China, Iran, and Russia are increasingly and very openly cooperating militarily and technologically, including Moscow sharing experience gained in the course of its Ukraine ground operations.

Newsweek reports that “Russia plans to train hundreds of Chinese military personnel this year on lessons learned from its ongoing invasion of Ukraine,” based on regional sources. Some of what has been ‘learned’ is how to defend against US-made and NATO-supplied weaponry – something which Beijing is surely interested in amid the long-running Taiwan standoff with Washington.

“Instructors will cover methods for countering weapons systems used by Ukrainian forces that were produced by the United States and its NATO allies, a source in Ukraine’s top intelligence agency told the outlet,” the Newsweek report continues.

Specifically ‘lessons for a Taiwan conflict’ would be gleaned:

This training would further strengthen security ties between Russia and its “no limits” ally China, which in recent years has stepped up joint military exercises. Battlefield insights into U.S. weaponry could offer an advantage as China seeks to surpass the U.S. as the leading military power in the Indo-Pacific.

And Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence Directorate has told local media, the Kyiv Post, that “The Kremlin has decided to allow Chinese military personnel to study and adopt the combat experience Russia has gained in its war against Ukraine.”

Not only have Russian forces destroyed and disabled possibly dozens of Western-supplied main battle tanks, including M1 Abrams, UK Challengers, and French Leopard 2’s – but F16s have also been shot down.

American troop carriers have additionally been destroyed, and in some places Western armored vehicles have been put on display in the capital of Moscow, as trophies recovered from the battlefield.

Meanwhile, China this week hosted defense ministers from Iran and Russia for a meeting in its eastern seaside city of Qingdao.

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Europe ‘wary’ of US arms dependence after unprecedented NATO spending boost

As European nations commit to their most significant military buildup in decades, growing unease is emerging over their reliance on US weapons manufacturers.

Despite depleted stockpiles due to aid to Ukraine, many European leaders are questioning the wisdom – and political cost – of deepening their dependence on US arms under the leadership of US President Donald Trump.

Trump’s recent trip to Europe underscored his push for allies to buy more US-made weapons. Yet his open admiration for Russia and controversial comments – such as threats to annex Greenland – have fueled wariness. “Buying American weapons is a security risk that we cannot run,” Danish parliamentarian Rasmus Jarlov declared earlier this year.

Canada is now considering exiting the US-led F-35 program in favor of Sweden’s Gripen fighters, Bloomberg noted on 27 June. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney recently said, “We should no longer send three-quarters of our defense capital spending to America.”

Meanwhile, in France, President Emmanuel Macron has spearheaded EU efforts to boost local weapons production, with the bloc fast-tracking a €150 billion ($162 billion) defense funding initiative.

Despite these efforts, the US maintains a commanding lead in key defense technologies – from missile systems to satellites – and European firms lack the capacity to meet the continent’s defense needs. 

Carlyle estimates Europe’s planned defense buildup could reach €14 trillion ($16 trillion) over the next decade when infrastructure is included, far outstripping current European capabilities.

“We have far too many systems in Europe, we have far too few units, and what we produce is often far too complicated, and therefore too expensive,” said German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

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‘Time to Leave NATO’: Sen. Mike Lee Unveils Trio of Bills to Withdraw U.S., Expose Allied ‘Freeloaders,’ Demand Defense Transparency

As NATO leaders gather for another summit, Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) has introduced sweeping legislation to withdraw the United States from the alliance and force America’s allies to pay their share, accusing European nations of relying on U.S. taxpayers to fund their defense.

“America’s withdrawal from NATO is long overdue,” Lee said in a statement Wednesday. “NATO has run its course — the threats that existed at its inception are no longer relevant 76 years later. If they were, Europe would be paying their fair share instead of making American taxpayers pick up the check for decades. My legislation will put America first by withdrawing us from the raw deal NATO has become.”

Lee’s latest bill, the Not A Trusted Organization (NATO) Act, would direct the president to formally notify NATO of U.S. withdrawal under Article 13 of the North Atlantic Treaty, fulfill the requirement for congressional authorization, and prohibit U.S. taxpayer dollars from funding NATO’s common budgets — including its civil and military programs.

“It’s time to leave NATO,” Lee posted Wednesday on X.

The Utah senator also introduced two companion bills on Tuesday— the Allied Burden Sharing Report Act and the NATO Burden Sharing Report Act — aimed at exposing which allied nations are failing to contribute their promised share to collective defense. The legislation would require the Department of Defense to produce annual reports detailing each ally’s defense spending, troop readiness, and limitations placed on military contributions. The NATO-specific report would go further by assessing each member state’s defense industrial base, contributions to Ukraine, and dependency on U.S. military assets.

“Year after year, our so-called allies shirk their commitments while we pay for the conflicts raging in their backyards,” Lee said. “By imposing annual reporting requirements, my legislation will identify delinquent allies — promoting accountability and putting them on notice to pay their fair share.”

Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), who supports the bills, delivered a scathing assessment of America’s role in the alliance.

“Our NATO allies expect the U.S. to be the sugar daddy and the world’s policeman while they sit back and let us do the heavy lifting. President Trump was right, it’s time for them to pull their own weight. Congress must stop giving blank checks to our allies and start demanding accountability. That’s why I’m pushing for the NATO Burden Sharing Report Act and the Allied Burden Sharing Report Act, to show the American people exactly who’s paying the bills and who’s shirking their share,” 

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NATO chief calls Trump ‘Daddy’ after president drops F-bomb over Iran-Israel strikes

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte on Wednesday called President Trump “Daddy” after the commander-in-chief furiously dropped the F-bomb when he was ripping into Iran and Israel for temporarily breaking a cease-fire deal.

Rutte made the remark as Trump was comparing the fighting between Israel and Iran to children scrapping in a schoolyard — a day after the prez launched a blistering attack on both countries over the ongoing barrage of missiles being fired at each other.

“They’ve had a big fight, like two kids in a schoolyard. You know, they fight like hell, you can’t stop them. Let them fight for about 2, 3 minutes, then it’s easy to stop them,” Trump said as the pair gave a joint press conference ahead of the NATO summit at The Hague.

Rutte laughed and quickly added: “Daddy has to sometimes use strong language to get it stopped.”

Elsewhere, the NATO boss gushed that Trump was a “good friend” and praised the prez for making the summit a success by “finally” getting Europe to boost military spending.

“When it comes to Iran, the fact that he took this decisive action, very targeted, to make sure that Iran would not be able to get his hands on a nuclear capability — I think he deserves all the praise,” he said.

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Russian Troops Take Another Eastern Ukraine Town As NATO Leaders Wrangle Over ‘What’s Next’

As NATO leaders met in The Hague for their major annual summit – where the focus was collective increased defense spending, Trump’s proclamation of Iran’s nuclear program having been ‘obliterated’, and more support for Ukraine – Russian forces gained another town in Eastern Ukraine.

According to Reuters on Wednesday, “Russian forces have taken control of the settlement of Yalta in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, the state-run RIA news agency reported on Wednesday citing the Russian Defense Ministry.”

“Battlegroup East units liberated the settlement of Yalta in the Donetsk People’s Republic through active and decisive actions,” the defense ministry said in the statement.

While Reuters and others are not able to independently verify the battlefield report, this is part of Russian forces’ slow but steady momentum in the east, and even lately expanding west of Donetsk as part of establishing Putin’s big security ‘buffer zone’. 

At this point it’s clear that Kiev’s backers in NATO can do nothing about this, except throw more money and weapons at the conflict, and President Trump met with Zelensky on Wednesday on the sidelines of the NATO meeting.

The two reportedly discussed Ukraine procuring more US anti-air defense systems, which ironically enough will likely be purchased with US taxpayer funds already poured into Kiev’s coffers.

As for Ukraine’s push for more US sanctions on Moscow, the response from The Hague was as follows:

“If we did what everybody here wants us to do, and that is come in and crush them [Russia] with more sanctions, we probably lose our ability to talk to them about the ceasefire – and then who’s talking to them?” Rubio said at the NATO summit.

Trump will “know the right time and place” for fresh punitive measures, he added. “If there’s an opportunity for us to make a difference and get them [Russia] to the table, we’re going to take it,” the state secretary emphasized.

But meanwhile, Russia will be busy gaining more territory, and future leverage at the negotiating table, as war fatigue has continued to set in among Ukraine’s Western backers.

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All of Nato, including US, ‘totally committed’ to keeping Ukraine in fight, Rutte says

The whole of Nato, including the United States, is “totally committed” to keeping Ukraine in the fight against Russia’s invasion, alliance secretary-general Mark Rutte told Reuters in an interview on June 25.

Speaking at the end of a summit of Nato leaders in The Hague, Mr Rutte also said nobody in Nato was naive about Russia and all alliance members “have more or less the same assessment” of Moscow.

US President Donald Trump’s more conciliatory stance towards Russia in his efforts to bring an end to the war in Ukraine has prompted questions about US commitments to Kyiv.

“The whole of Nato, including the United States, is totally committed to keep Ukraine in the fight, to make sure that if there is a peace deal, that peace deal – or the ceasefire – will be lasting, will be durable,” Mr Rutte said.

He said the clear direction of travel was that Europeans would be responsible for more of the military aid to Ukraine.

But he said the US would still be “very much involved with intelligence-sharing, with also practical military support” including potentially air defence systems.

“I think there will still be a huge, big American involvement,” Mr Rutte said.

The Trump administration has also told Europeans that they must take over primary responsibility for their own security, rather than relying on the US through Nato.

Mr Rutte said this process would be possible as Europeans had committed to spending more on defence, and it would be “well-organised” to avoid any gaps that Russia could exploit.

“I’ve had these discussions in Washington over the last couple of months,” he said.

“For years, the US has said ‘we have to pivot more towards Asia’. Now that the Europeans are stepping up, that also makes it possible,” he said.

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NATO Pledges $40 Billion to Ukraine

The neocons would never permit a true ceasefire. The war in the Middle East must continue in order to broaden the West’s conflict with Russia. Russia is not permitted to remain neutral, despite Putin’s insistence. Follow the money—NATO has assembled $40 BILLION to prolong aggression against Russia.

“Let’s not forget, Iran is heavily involved in the fight of Russia against Ukraine by, for example, their drone deliveries, which are killing innocent Ukrainians every day, in cities, in communities, without any respect for life,” Rutte said. Russia has paid Iran for defense and drones throughout the conflict in Ukraine, and therefore, the neocons believe Russia should be held responsible for the war in the Middle East.

Russia has successfully fended off NATO and the weaponization of Ukraine by the West. The messaging put forth by NATO aligns with Socrates’ predictions—the worst is yet to come and we have mass panic cycles occurring in nearly every major economy in 2026. The reason cannot be provided by the computer, but historically, we only see such an uptick in activity during times of global conflict.

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NATO To Take ‘Quantum Leap’ in Military Spending, Pledging 5% of GDP Baseline

Each member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is expected to ink a pledge to raise military spending to 5% of GDP over the next ten years. This is more than double the current 2% goal. Responding to President Donald Trump’s demands for greater spending, member states will agree to the new baseline in the Netherlands during an alliance summit this week. On Monday, the eve before the summit, this proposal was referred to as a “quantum leap” by Secretary General Mark Rutte.

Under the compromise deal, by 2035, each member state will commit a minimum of 3.5% of their GDP to “core military needs,” along with 1.5% to be earmarked for cybersecurity, infrastructure, and other security components.

“The defense investment plan that allies will agree [to] in The Hague introduces a new baseline, five percent of GDP to be invested in defense,” Rutte told reporters.Despite alliance concerns over Madrid’s refusal to commit to the 5% spending figure, which would necessitate a military yearly budget of nearly $90 billion, Rutte emphasized Spain will not be allowed to “opt-out.” He said, “NATO does not have as an alliance opt-outs, side deals, etcetera, because we all have to chip in.”

Moreover, Rutte insists the new spending will go toward producing thousands of tanks and a five fold increase in the production of air defenses. The NATO chief declared, “Our focus is ensuring that we have all we need to deter and defend against any threat.” Rutte added the summit will see strong support for Ukraine and noted the “most significant and direct threat facing this alliance remains the Russian Federation.”

The alliance has poured hundreds of billions of dollars into a proxy war with Russia in Ukraine that has seen hundreds of thousands of casualties with Ukraine losing roughly 20% of its territory.

With the US taking the lead, by 2021, defying Russia’s core security concerns and provoking conflict, Ukraine was being treated as a de facto NATO member. Rutte’s predecessor, Jens Stoltenberg, admitted that, under his leadership in the lead up to the war, the Washington-led bloc refused to take potential membership for Kiev off the table in negotiations even though Moscow had made clear that would prevent an invasion.

The policy has not changed. “Last year in Washington, NATO allies agreed… there is an irreversible path of Ukraine to enter NATO. And that is still true today, and it will still be true on Thursday after this summit,” Rutte told reporters.

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NATO’s Procurement Corruption Scandal Might Delay Its Rapid Militarization Plans

Member states might eschew the NATO Support and Procurement Agency’s services, thus delaying their military purchases, which could delay the bloc’s rapid militarization plans if enough of them do this so as to avoid having to pay more if they’re unlucky enough to be serviced by corrupt employees.

NATO’s next summit will be held from 24-25 June at The Hague and almost certainly see the bloc expand upon its preexisting rapid militarization plans.

Trump is demanding that all members spend 5% of GDP on defense as soon as possible, which Politico recently reminded everyone in their article about this is divided between 3.5% on “hard military spending” and 1.5% on defense-related issues like cybersecurity.

Here are three background briefings on NATO’s rapid militarization plans to bring readers up to speed:

* 19 July 2024: “The EU’s Planned Transformation Into A Military Union Is A Federalist Power Play”

* 24 October 2024: “NATO’s Military Schengen”

* 7 March 2025: “The ‘ReArm Europe Plan’ Will Probably Fall Far Short Of The Bloc’s Lofty Expectations”

In short, the EU wants to exploit false fears of a future Russian invasion to further centralize the bloc under that pretext, with the “military Schengen” (for facilitating the free flow of troops and equipment between member states) and the €800 billion “ReArm Europe Plan” being its tangible manifestations.

The first will create the desired military union while the second will then result in there being an urgent need for some mechanism to organize the division of defense investments between all members.

It’s here where the NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA) is expected to play a major role owing to the lack of any alternatives and the difficulty in getting members to agree on creating a new EU-wide one due to some states’ sovereignty concerns. Per the NSPA’s website, “[its] objective is to obtain the best service or equipment at the best price for the customer by consolidating requirements from multiple nations in a cost-efficient way through its turnkey multinational acquisition framework.”

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Russia Won’t End Ukraine War Until NATO Pulls Forces Out Of Eastern Flank

A top Kremlin official was quoted in Newsweek this week warning that Russia won’t end the Ukraine war until NATO pulls its troops out of the Baltic and ‘eastern flank’ states.

Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov demanded that NATO must withdraw its troops from the Baltic region. Russia has long seen the Baltics as very near, and its sphere of influence, also given its territory of of Kaliningrad. 

“The American side requires practical steps aimed at eliminating the root causes of the fundamental contradictions between us in the area of security,” he had said, originally in state TASS.

“Among these causes, NATO expansion is in the foreground,” he emphasized. “Without resolving this fundamental and most acute problem for us, it is simply impossible to resolve the current conflict in the Euro-Atlantic region.”

NATO’s ‘eastern flank’ closer to the start of the Ukraine war – forces have since grown…

“Given the nature and genesis of the Ukrainian crisis, provoked by the previous U.S. authorities and the West as a whole, this conflict naturally acts, well, if you like, as a test, a trial, which checks the seriousness of Washington’s intentions to straighten out our relations,” he said.

Ryabkov said Moscow’s position all along has been that the Western military alliance “not deploy strike weapons near Russian border.”

“In any case, reducing NATO’s Eastern European contingent would likely boost the security of the whole continent,” he concluded.

Such a broader ultimatum was actually issued just before the full-scale invasion, but was not heeded. In fact, countries like Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania have only grown more hawkish and vocal in their anti-Moscow rhetoric, and have even taken legal action against the Russian Orthodox Church in the Baltics.

A very provocative and sensational alert issued by German intelligence…

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