NATO chief issues chilling WW3 warning over 'Russia and China twin attack'

A NATO chief has issued a chilling WW3 warning predicting both Russia and China will launch a twin attack.

NATO secretary general Mark Rutte said a simultaneous invasion by Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin could put the world at serious risk of nuclear annihilation. China would plot to annex the island nation of Taiwan while Russia launches an invasion of a NATO member.

Mr Rutte gave the warning as he stressed the need for member states to increase their military budgets and re-arm. He told The New York Times: "Let’s not be naïve about this: If Xi Jinping would attack Taiwan, he would first make sure that he makes a call to his very junior partner in all of this, Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, residing in Moscow, and telling him, ‘Hey, I’m going to do this, and I need you to to keep them busy in Europe by attacking NATO territory.' That is most likely the way this will progress."

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He explained Beijing and Moscow could only be deterred by a strong NATO. He added: "One is that NATO, collectively, being so strong that the Russians will never do this.

"And second, working together with the Indo-Pacific - something President [Donald] Trump is very much promoting. Because we have this close interconnectedness, working together on defence industry, innovation between NATO and the Indo-Pacific."

Experts fear Russia could rapidly rebuild its decimated army by 2027, despite sending tens of thousands of its soldiers to their deaths in a failed bid to conquer Ukraine. The International Institute for Strategic Studies said Russian President Vladimir Putin could deploy his army to test NATO's resolve in pursuing the principle of Article 5.

Article 5 is the cornerstone principle underpinning NATO, which stipulates all member states will come to the defence of any of the others should they be attacked by an external force. There are concerns Putin might attempt to overrun the Baltic states, which were previously annexed into the Soviet Union and were also parts of the Russian Empire.

Mr Rutte said Russia is rearming at a speed "which is unparalleled in recent history". Mr Rutte has called on Western allies to increase their defence spending.

He said of the Russians: "They are now producing three times as much ammunition in three months as the whole of NATO is doing in a year. This is unsustainable, but the Russians are working together with the North Koreans, with the Chinese and Iranians, the mullahs, in fighting this unprovoked war of aggression against Ukraine.

"So here, the Indo-Pacific and your Atlantic are getting more and more interconnected. We know that China has its eye on Taiwan."

Kremlin mouthpieces have since hit out at the Dutch NATO leader, saying he had "gorged on too many of the magic mushrooms beloved by the Dutch."

In a post shared to X/Twitter, ex-Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said: "He sees collusion between China & Russia over Taiwan, and then a Russian attack on Europe. But he's right about one thing: he should learn Russian. It might come in handy in a Siberian camp."