NATO’s Rutte Says Peace for Ukraine Will Come With Troops, Jets, and Naval Support

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte addressed Ukraine’s Parliament, outlining what he described as the conditions for a lasting peace and the scale of Allied support already flowing to Kyiv, Ukrainian lawmaker Yaroslav Zhelezniak reported on February 3.

Speaking before lawmakers in the Verkhovna Rada , Rutte said NATO countries have provided the overwhelming majority of critical missile supplies used by Ukrainian forces over the past year and stressed that any future peace agreement must be backed by real security guarantees—not paper assurances.

According to Rutte, NATO members supplied 75% of all missiles delivered to the front and 90% of Ukraine’s air defense missiles over the past year.

He added that the Alliance is not only delivering weapons but also co-developing new systems with Ukraine and accelerating their transfer to the battlefield.

Rutte emphasized that a durable peace would require the direct involvement of the United States and Canada, both of which are prepared to provide security guarantees. He said a so-called “coalition of the willing” is already working on the framework for those guarantees.

“Ukraine needs strong support. The ‘coalition of the willing’ has made progress on security guarantees, as President Zelenskyy has said,” Rutte said.

“As soon as a peace agreement is reached, armed forces will appear immediately, aircraft will be in the air, and there will be support at sea from those NATO countries that agree to take part.”

Rutte added that other NATO members would contribute in different ways, depending on national decisions.

He warned against repeating past failures, saying Ukraine does not need another Budapest Memorandum or Minsk-style agreements, which failed to prevent further Russian aggression.

“You would not want another Budapest Memorandum or another Minsk,” Rutte said.

“The attack last night demonstrates Russia’s lack of seriousness and lack of readiness. The Russian economy is suffering. Your security and your peace are our security and our peace—and it must be fair and long-term.”

During his speech, Rutte also noted that NATO continues to study Ukraine’s battlefield innovations, particularly in defense technologies, and said the Alliance is learning directly from the Ukrainian experience.

He acknowledged that reaching an agreement to end the war would involve difficult decisions but said NATO would continue applying pressure on Russia to bring the fighting to an end.

Earlier, Rutte, speaking during the Ukrainian Breakfast at the World Economic Forum in Davos, said that Russia remains the primary threat to NATO, even as China continues to expand its military capabilities.

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