Data from 2015 indicates that NATO members in Europe have slowed their cuts to defense spending, likely due to fears of Russian aggression. Reuters reports that while defense spending is still decreasing overall, the drop was the smallest in four years. Additionally, Eastern European nations have actually increased their defense spending. This trend appears to be directly related to Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014. The United States still makes up almost three quarters of the defense spending in NATO, but this trend implies that Europe is beginning to take steps to better aid in countering Russian aggression in Europe.
Access all of The Cipher Brief’s national security-focused expert insight by becoming a Cipher Brief Subscriber+
Member.
Related Articles
Riding the Tiger: Why Xi and Putin’s ‘Axis of Autocracies’ Could End the Way Churchill Predicted
“Dictators,” Churchill observed, “ride to and fro on tigers from which they dare not dismount.” “And,” he added, “the tigers are getting [...] More
The Math of Moscow’s War: Five Thousand Kilometers, One Million Dead and Wounded
OPINION -- “Since January 2024, Russian forces have seized approximately 5,000 square kilometers [1,931 square miles] of additional Ukrainian [...] More
It’s Time to Show Putin that the U.S. is Serious
OPINION / EXPERT PERSPECTIVE – As we reach a temporary ceasefire in diplomatic progress aimed at ending the war in Ukraine - a war that has cost the [...] More
Ordinary Russians are Paying for Putin's Poor Alaska Performance
OPINION / EXPERT PERSPECTIVE – The Russian state media's triumphant coverage of Vladimir Putin's August 15 meeting with Donald Trump in Alaska tells [...] More
