Rutte urges European NATO countries to strengthen their defenses to avoid war with Russia, if Ukraine were to be pressured into losing the war.
"The conflict is at the door. Russia has once again brought war to Europe and we must be prepared," Rutte said in Berlin on Thursday.
The warning bell to NATO's European member states is that war is coming and that they need to quickly rearm, even though they cannot replace the US, which no longer wants to take primary responsibility for Europe, says Magnus Christiansson, senior lecturer at the Swedish National Defence University.
If Ukraine is forced to sign a peace agreement that effectively means a victory for Russia, the countdown would begin for the time Europe has to prepare for an attack from Russia, he says.
Big bets
Despite intensive peace talks, Russia and Ukraine remain far apart.
"Over the past year, the situation has not really changed. Russia and Ukraine have their maximalist goals, territorial and political," says Martin Kragh, deputy director of the Center for East European Studies at UI.
Major defense investments are now being made in many European countries.
But it's money. It's not the same as having a well-trained battalion commander or brigade commander. Or having the systems in place, says Magnus Christiansson.
European countries are Western democracies, where military issues rarely dominate, he points out.
This requires us to realize that we are in a different world than the one we thought we were in during the 90s and 00s.
Greater risks
Given that Russia's advance in Ukraine is quite slow, the question is how the Russian army could achieve success against countries in Europe. But as the situation stands right now, Russia would quickly tire out the armies of European countries, says Christiansson.
There are no reserves, there are no ammunition stores, there are no soldiers to call up to replace someone who has fallen. So even if the Russians are incredibly ineffective on the battlefield, without American help, Europe would risk being overrun.
Not because the Russians are better soldiers or have a better war machine, but because they are prepared to take greater risks.
