It in the "keynote speech" he chastized those alliance partners who don't feel the urgency of the 'Russian threat' to Europe.  "We are Russia's next target. I fear that too many are quietly complacent," he said. "Too many don't feel the urgency. And too many believe that time is on our side. It is not. The time for action is now."

"Conflict is at our door. Russia has brought war back to Europe. And we must be prepared," he added while warning of the next world war.

He further asserted that Russia could be ready to use military force against NATO within five years, at a moment the Ukraine war shows no signs of stopping. Rutte argued that more than just higher spending thresholds should be implemented, and he urged that alliance members must shift to a "wartime mindset".

"This is not the time for self-congratulation," Rutte continued. "I fear that too many are quietly complacent. Too many don't feel the urgency. And too many believe that time is on our side. It is not. The time for action is now."

"Putin is paying for his pride with the blood of his own people," Rutte elsewhere stated. "And if he is prepared to sacrifice ordinary Russians in this way, what is he prepared to do to us?"

Of course, none of this acknowledged what from Moscow's point of view are the root causes of the war, especially the issue of constant NATO expansion.

Rutte is also hyping a coming 'world war' even while European leaders by and large have rejected the Trump-proposed peace plan, given they find the prospect of territorial concessions in Donbas and Crimea to be intolerable. It seems the hawks are still in control of Europe.

Another interesting moment was the NATO chief placing a lot of blame on China. He alleged that Moscow would not be able to execute the war without help from Beijing.

"China is Russia's lifeline," he alleged. "Without China's support, Russia could not continue to wage this war. About 80 percent of critical electronic components in Russian drones and other systems are made in China. So, when civilians die in Kyiv or Kharkiv, Chinese technology is often inside the weapons that kill them."