Head of NATO: take “crazy” Putin seriously
The transatlantic alliance is facing its toughest test since the cold war. Shashank Joshi, our defence editor, sat down with Mark Rutte, the head of NATO, to discuss Vladimir Putin and the war in Ukraine, the growing threat from China and dealing with Donald Trump.
You can watch the full interview, as part of our new video series “The Economist Insider”, from Tuesday October 14th at 6pm London time.
00:00 - Russian incursions into NATO airspace
01:45 - Is Russia a real threat?
04:14 - What Donald Trump means for the alliance
05:58 - What Europe will do if China invades Taiwan
Watch the full interview: https://www.economist.com/insider/inside-defence/mark-rutte-on-natos-survival
Putin’s dangerous drone probe is a moment of truth for NATO: https://www.economist.com/europe/2025/09/10/putins-dangerous-drone-probe-is-a-moment-of-truth-for-nato
Listen: Space invaders: Russia’s NATO nose-thumbing https://www.economist.com/podcasts/2025/10/02/space-invaders-russias-nato-nose-thumbing
Sign up to the Insider newsletter: https://econ.st/4nOyzIb
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On Tuesdays and Thursdays, The Economist posts videos that give authoritative insight and opinion on international news, politics, business, finance, science, technology and the connections between them. We're also producing full films such as The Disrup...