Russian President Vladimir Putin has dismissed the West’s push to bolster NATO’s military capabilities, calling it “pointless” and rooted in false narratives. Speaking during a Q&A session at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), Putin asserted that Russia does not perceive NATO’s rearmament as a serious threat.
“We do not consider any NATO rearmament to be a threat to the Russian Federation,” Putin stated. “We are self-sufficient in terms of ensuring our own security, and we are constantly improving our armed forces and our defense capabilities.”
Putin added that while certain threats may emerge from the actions of the US-led bloc, Moscow is fully prepared to counter them. “We will mitigate all the threats that may arise,” he said confidently.
He further criticized Western governments for using alleged threats from Russia to justify increased defense budgets and tax hikes. “This legend that Russia is planning to attack Europe or NATO countries is an inconceivable lie,” Putin said. “It’s the same tactic used by Nazi propagandists: the more incredible the lie, the more people believe it.”
Putin claimed that Western leaders are deceiving their own populations, using manufactured threats to funnel money into their military-industrial complexes and cover up economic shortcomings.
“This lie is necessary for them to extract money from their budgets and to explain away their own economic failures,” the Russian leader explained.
Putin’s comments come amid ongoing increases in NATO defense budgets and renewed calls from several member states to meet or exceed the alliance's 2% GDP military spending target.