Putin Scoffs at Nato Spending

REARMAMENT: 'NO THREAT AS WE ENSURE OUR SECURITY'

- Saint Petersburg

Nato's push to ramp up defence spending was not a "threat" to Russia, Russian President Vladimir Putin said yesterday, days before the alliance was set to sign-off on a plan to boost its military capacity across Europe.

In a late-night press conference, the Russian leader also said his troops would not stop pushing forward in Ukraine and sought to undermine his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky.

The Western military alliance will hold a crucial summit in The Hague next week to discuss increasing defence spending to 5% of GDP, under pressure from US President Donald Trump.

Putin has cast his offensive in Ukraine as part of a wider conflict between Russia and US-led Nato, which has been Ukraine's staunchest backer since Russia launched its offensive in 2022.