NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte warned on Thursday that Russian President Vladimir Putin wants to "wipe Ukraine off the map" and may teach the rest of Europe a lesson.

For this reason, he called on Europeans to pressure their governments to increase defense spending.

"The time has come to have a war mentality," Rutte told security experts and analysts at the Carnegie Europe organization in Brussels. He stressed that people should be prepared for the possibility that Russia tries to use "swarms of drones" in Europe, as it is doing with deadly effect in Ukraine.

Putin "is trying to destroy our freedom and our way of life," Rutte said.

During his speech, the former Prime Minister of the Netherlands mentioned Russia's attacks on Georgia in 2008, the annexation of the Ukrainian peninsula, Crimea, in 2014, as well as the full occupation of Ukraine that began almost three years ago.

"Do we need more warnings? We should be deeply concerned. I know I am," said Rutte.

"Russia is preparing for long-term confrontation. With Ukraine, and with us," he added.

Rutte delivered his inaugural speech about two months after taking over as NATO chief.

Since then, he has traveled to the capitals of 32 member states, including a meeting with US President-elect Donald Trump in the United States, NATO's most powerful ally.

NATO is a big supporter of Ukraine and has helped most of its members send arms, ammunition and other aid to Ukraine. But Trump's return and his promise to end the war quickly has raised concerns that an unfavorable ceasefire could be imposed on Ukraine.

Trump regularly complains that US NATO allies don't spend enough on defense.

Rutte said Russia's military spending is likely to reach 7 to 8% of its GDP next year - far more than any NATO ally - with its defense industry producing tanks, armor and ammunition.

Putin also has the support of allies such as China, Iran and North Korea.

Rutte emphasized that defense spending has increased significantly in Europe. And, 23 member countries are expected to meet NATO's target of allocating 2 percent of GDP to their military budgets.

But, Rutte added: "I can tell you that we will need much more than 2 percent."

Rutte listed a string of "hostile actions" by Russia recently against NATO allies, including cyber attacks, assassinations, an explosion at an ammunition depot in the Czech Republic, jamming radars in the Baltic region to disrupt air traffic, and "arming" of immigrants to destabilize Europe.

"These attacks are not just isolated incidents. They are the result of a coordinated campaign to destabilize our societies and discourage us from supporting Ukraine," he said.

Beyond increased defense spending in Europe, Rutte emphasized that NATO now has tens of thousands of troops on high alert, in case they are needed to defend the allies' territory.

“With all that, our defense is good – for now. But what worries me is tomorrow", he said and warned that "we are not ready for what awaits us in four to five years. The danger is approaching us at full speed".

"What is happening in Ukraine can happen here, and regardless of the outcome of this war, we will not be safe in the future if we are not prepared to face the risk," Rutte added.

Rutte called on governments to provide defense industries with "the large orders and long-term contracts they need to quickly produce more weapons and better weapons".

He urged industries to increase production of defensive weapons against drones and other new combat tactics.

He added that "freedom does not come for free" for about 1 billion people living in the Euro-Atlantic area./REL/