Kremlin says NATO air defence plan is confrontational and will cost European taxpayers

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov attends a meeting between Russia's President Vladimir Putin and Vietnam's Communist Party General Secretary To Lam in Moscow, Russia May 10, 2025. REUTERS/Anton Vaganov/Pool/File Photo

MOSCOW (Reuters) -The Kremlin said on Monday that NATO's plan for a huge boost to its air and missile defence capabilities was confrontational and would come at the expense of European taxpayers who were being asked to pay to defuse a threat that did not exist.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, who is pushing for members to boost defence spending to 3.5% of GDP and commit a further 1.5% to broader security-related spending, was due to use a speech in London on Monday to say that the alliance needed a 400% increase in air and missile defence.