NATO chief Mark Rutte warned Tuesday that Russian President Vladimir Putin must not be allowed to prevail in Ukraine.

Axar.az reports that, citing Reuters, as Rutte told this as he joined EU ministers for defense talks on the 1,000th day of the war.

“Why is this so crucial that Putin will not get his way? Because you will have an emboldened Russia on our border... and I’m absolutely convinced it will not stop there,” Rutte told reporters in Brussels.

“It is then posing a direct threat to all of us in the West,” he said.

As Ukraine marks “1,000 days of the unprovoked full Russian onslaught”, Rutte said ministers would “discuss how we can help Ukraine to prevail: that means more aid, more money.”

“We need simply to do more. We have to ramp up the defense industry,” he said.