A record more than 20 Nato member nations are expected to hit the Western military alliance’s defence spending target this year, Nato secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg said on Monday, as the war in Ukraine drives worldwide concerns.

The estimated figure, announced by Mr Stoltenberg during a talk at the Wilson Centre in Washington, marks a near fourfold increase from 2021 in the ranks of the 32 Nato member nations meeting the alliance’s defence spending guideline.

Only six nations were meeting the goal that year, ahead of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Nato member countries agreed last year to spend at least 2% of their gross domestic product on defence.

The surge in spending reflects the worries of Western allies about the war in Ukraine.

Some countries also are concerned about the possible re-election of former US president Donald Trump, who has repeatedly characterised many Nato allies as freeloading on US military spending and said on the campaign trail that he would not defend Nato members that do nott meet defence spending targets.

Mr Stoltenberg is meeting US President Joe Biden later on Monday at the White House.