NATO will not allow putin to win war against Ukraine — Secretary General
NATO will not allow putin to win the war he started against Ukraine and will provide assistance to the Armed Forces as long as necessary.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg stated this at a press conference following a meeting with Romanian Prime Minister Nicolae Ciucă in response to a request from journalists to predict how long russia's war against Ukraine might last, Ukrinform reports.
"The war is unpredictable by its nature, so I will not speculate (on forecasts – ed.) how long this war will last. I will say only two things. We are ready to support Ukraine as long as necessary. We cannot allow president putin to win this war — it would be a disaster and a tragedy for Ukrainians and make us, NATO allies, more vulnerable. Because then president putin might conclude that he could achieve his goals with military force. In such a case, this lesson would be learned not only by him but also by all the authoritarian leaders of the world," Stoltenberg emphasized.
He reminded that the war did not start in February of this year but much earlier — when in 2014, president putin illegally annexed Crimea and took control of the regions in the east of Ukraine.
In February, there was a full-scale escalation of aggression, which turned into russia's aggressive war against Ukraine.
"Over the past weeks and months, the Ukrainians have achieved significant success. They were able to push russian forces from the north, from the territory around Kyiv, and stopped the russian offensive in Donbas. Now they continue pushing back russian forces, liberating territories in the Kharkiv region, the Donbas, and the south. This is an example of the courage and heroism of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, the people, and the political leadership of Ukraine, and we pay them great respect," the NATO leader said, noting that the support from the Alliance, member states, and partners was "very important" for achieving these results.
Regarding the second message, he noted that all wars mostly end at the negotiating table. At the same time, it is obvious that the results of such negotiations, which would suit Ukraine, depend entirely on its strength on the battlefield.
Therefore, NATO should strengthen Ukraine's negotiating position by supplying military aid, and the Alliance's allies are currently doing this.
"We must maximize the probability of results that will be acceptable to Ukraine and minimize the time to achieve this. The stronger Ukrainians are on the battlefield — the more opportunities are created for a political solution that will ensure Ukraine's victory and its preservation as a sovereign and independent European state," the NATO Secretary General emphasized.
He noted that putin is currently losing a brutal war against Ukraine and is responding to his failures on the battlefield with attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure, as well as dangerous nuclear rhetoric. Stoltenberg called the absurdness of russia's attempts to accuse Ukraine of allegedly preparing to use a "dirty bomb" on its own territory and emphasized that the allies strongly deny these false accusations.
"NATO will not allow itself to be intimidated or forced to abandon assistance to Ukraine in realizing its right to self-defense. We will do this as long as it takes. Ukrainian forces become stronger and better equipped every week," the NATO leader said.
