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NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg: »None of that shows strength.
It shows weakness«
Photo: OLIVIER HOSLET / EPA
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has described Russia's recent actions in the war against Ukraine as the worst escalation since the invasion began on February 24.
"This is a crucial moment," said the Norwegian on Friday in Brussels.
He pointed to Russia's partial mobilization, nuclear saber-rattling and illegal annexation of Ukrainian territories.
“None of that shows strength.
It shows weakness,” said Stoltenberg.
This is an admission that the war is not going according to plan and that Russian President Vladimir Putin has completely failed in his strategic goals.
According to Stoltenberg, fears of a Russian nuclear attack should not be given in to.
Putin said in the afternoon that Russia wants to see military strikes in annexed areas as attacks against its own territory.
He repeated the threat to respond "with all available means".
Stoltenberg stressed that if you accept Russia's annexation and let nuclear saber-rattling stop you from helping Ukraine, then you accept nuclear blackmail.
Rather, one must continue to support Ukraine.
If Putin is allowed to win, Ukraine will cease to exist as a sovereign nation.
But this is also dangerous for the NATO states.
It is not that inaction is not a risk.
Rather, inaction is a great risk because it creates a world in which Putin sees that he can use military force with impunity.
"Russia must understand that a nuclear war can never be won and must never be waged." At the same time, Stoltenberg warned Russia that there would be serious consequences if it used nuclear weapons.
This was clearly communicated to Moscow.
However, Stoltenberg reiterated that NATO is not a party to the conflict.
A good seven months after the attack on Ukraine began, Russia annexed four areas in the east and south of the country.
On Friday, Putin signed the agreements that sealed the incorporation of the occupied regions of Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhia and Kherson.
The annexations are not recognized internationally.
The EU, the G7 countries, NATO and Germany sharply condemned the move.
The US imposed new sanctions on Moscow.
In response to the annexations, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that he would apply for accelerated accession to NATO.
jso/dpa
