Record number of NATO allies hitting defense spending target during war in Ukraine

A record more than 20 NATO member nations are hitting the Western military alliance's defense spending target this year, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Monday, as Russia's war in Ukraine has raised the threat of expanding conflict in Europe. The estimated figure is a nearly fourfold increase from 2021 in the number of the 32 NATO members meeting the alliance's defense spending guideline. Only six nations were meeting the goal that year, before Russian President Vladimir Putin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. "Europeans are doing more for their collective security than just a few years ago," Stoltenberg said in a speech…