Russia has amassed a large number of missiles to put Ukraine “in the dark and in the cold” next winter, warns NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg. But according to Stoltenberg, there is no room for despondency. Allies are helping Ukraine defend its airspace, and Russia itself is also taking blow after blow.
Russia bombarded Ukrainian infrastructure with missiles and drones day in and day out last winter. For example, it paralyzed the electricity, heating and water pipes. Now “we see new attempts to hit Ukraine’s power grid and energy infrastructure,” Stoltenberg said after consultations with the foreign ministers of NATO countries and their Ukrainian counterpart.
Stoltenberg points out that Russia is also putting its economy entirely at the service of the war and will not easily fade from a few hundred more deaths. Now that Ukraine’s long-awaited counter-offensive has yielded little and its generals also speak of a stalemate, doubts about the country’s chances are growing. But Stoltenberg is fiercely opposed to this.
He did not talk about the Ukrainian losses, but did highlight Kiev’s successes. “Ukraine has regained 50 percent of the territory originally occupied by Russia. And in the Black Sea, the Ukrainians have pushed back the Russian fleet,” making it possible to set up grain export routes.
Moreover, “Putin’s strategic mistake to invade Ukraine” has left Russia “politically, militarily and economically weakened,” Stoltenberg concludes. “Russia is also becoming increasingly dependent on China. Year after year, Moscow is pledging its future to Beijing.”
‘Ukraine is closer than ever to NATO
According to Stoltenberg, Ukraine is “closer than ever to NATO”, he also said after the meeting first ministerial-level meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council in Brussels. The foreign ministers of the NATO countries held consultations with their Ukrainian counterpart.
“Allies agree that Ukraine will join NATO. We have now made recommendations on priority reforms in Ukraine, including fighting corruption, strengthening the rule of law and supporting human and minority rights,” it sounds. “I am impressed by the commitment Ukraine is showing to implement reforms in the midst of a large-scale war.”
