Ukraine may lose interceptors, air defense systems, and key equipment if the Greenland crisis diverts strategic attention away from Russia's war. Support from allies is crucial for Kyiv amid Russia's strikes, says NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.
He has made the remarks during his address at the World Economic Forum in Davos, stressing that Ukraine must remain an unquestionable priority for the Alliance.
Rutte urges NATO not to dilute its focus with secondary geopolitical issues
According to Rutte, all other international issues, including Greenland, can only be addressed after Ukraine.
Ukraine has to come first, because it is decisive for European and American security. Russia's war is the main issue right now, he emphasized.
At the same time, the NATO Secretary General noted that the Greenland issue should be resolved exclusively through peaceful means, but it must not overshadow the West’s primary security challenge.
The war does not pause while the West debates
Rutte expressed concern that allies could lose focus if they overconcentrate on other topics. He underlined that Russia kept striking Ukraine while allies gathered at the Davos forum.
He added that with temperatures dropping to –20°C in Kyiv, Ukraine is currently able to meet only around 60% of its electricity needs, making partner support critically important right now.
Catastrophic Russian losses do not stop the offensive
The NATO Secretary General also highlighted the battlefield situation, emphasizing the scale of Russian losses.
In December, the Russians were losing about a thousand people per day, killed, not wounded. That is more than 30,000 in one month, Rutte said.
He compared these losses to the Soviet war in Afghanistan, saying that in the 1980s, the Soviet Union lost about 20,000 soldiers over ten years. Russia is now losing 30,000 per month.
Despite these losses, Russia continues and even intensifies offensive operations, making any reduction in support for Ukraine particularly dangerous.
Support for Ukraine is needed today, tomorrow, and beyond
Rutte also warned European allies against a false sense of security driven by financial packages or diplomatic signals.
If NATO thinks that because the European Commission has mobilized €90 billion, or because a peace process supposedly seems to be moving in the right direction, the Alliance can forget about defending Ukraine, this would be a mistake, he stressed.
Ukraine, he said, needs continuous support, not at some abstract point in the future, but right now.
