Zelenskyy criticises NATO over pace of defence spending increase: Putin could strike earlier

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy believes that NATO countries are increasing their defence spending too slowly given Russia’s capacity to rebuild its offensive potential.

All NATO member states are to pledge at the summit in The Hague to increase their defence spending to 5% of GDP by 2035. Zelenskyy deems this timeline to be "too slow".

"Because we believe that starting from 2030, Putin can have significantly greater capabilities. Today, Ukraine is holding him back – he has no time to train his army. 

Ten years is too long. He’ll have a new army ready by then," Zelenskyy said in an interview with Sky News.

When asked whether he believes Putin could attack a NATO country within five years or sooner to test Article 5, Zelenskyy replied: "Exactly. I believe so".

At the same time, he noted that Putin is unlikely to strike a NATO state in the next few months. "No, I think he’s not ready," Zelenskyy said.

He added that Putin would still need a pause in the war against Ukraine, sanctions relief, and well-trained armed forces before attempting such an attack.

Zelenskyy expressed his hopes to meet with US President Donald Trump in The Hague, where the NATO summit is being held on Tuesday and Wednesday.