Kuala Lumpur: NATO leaders on Wednesday are to formally approve a massive hike in defence spending aimed at financing the alliance’s largest rearmament programme since the Cold War, as allies ready for the possibility of a Russian attack on NATO territory, German Press Agency (dpa) reported.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, “This is a quantum leap that is ambitious, historic, and fundamental to securing our future,” said NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in The Hague, the site of this year’s summit. On the second and final day of the meeting in the Dutch city, NATO allies are expected to commit to spending five per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) on defence and related expenses by 2035, following persistent pressure from US President Donald Trump to increase their defence budgets.