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Russian Security Council notes need to respond to rise in NATO states’ military spending

Deputy Secretary Alexey Shevtsov said the military budgets of individual NATO countries have increased six-fold or more over the past ten years

MOSCOW, April 27. /TASS/. Russia must take into account the risks of further militarization of NATO and develop countermeasures, said Alexey Shevtsov, Deputy Secretary of the Russian Security Council.

"The military budgets of individual NATO countries have increased six-fold or more over the past ten years. These risks must be considered, anticipated, and countermeasures developed," he said at the International Scientific and Practical Conference "Contours of a New Collective Security Architecture: Current Issues of Information and Analytical Partnership within the CSTO."

In March, NATO published a ranking of countries based on military spending growth since 2014. Lithuania took first place, with defense spending increasing by 537.4% from 2014 to 2025, reaching $2.9 bln per year, which represents 4% of the Baltic republic’s GDP. Latvia came in second (up 369.4% to $1.46 bln, 3.74% of GDP), followed by Luxembourg (up 359.6% to $1.2 bln, 2.13% of GDP), Denmark (up 265.1% to $14.5 bln, 3.34% of GDP), and Poland (up 241% to $33.3 bln, 4.3% of GDP).

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