NATO assures that it will provide Ukraine with "everything it needs to stand"

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg addressed the media at a joint briefing with the Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and the High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell. 

The press point was broadcast by Espreso TV.

"What you have seen today is that President Putin is in no way preparing for peace. He's preparing for more war. He's preparing for new offensives, and he is mobilizing more troops and sending in more weapons and that's exactly why we need to step up our support for Ukraine, because it will be a tragedy for Ukrainians but also dangerous for all of us, if President Putin wins in Ukraine. Then we have to remember this is this is a war of choice. This is a war of aggression. Russia decided to invade a neighbour, Ukraine," the NATO Secretary General emphasized.

Jens Stoltenberg noted that Ukraine has the right to defend itself, and this is enshrined in the UN Charter.

"NATO Allies are providing unprecedented support to Ukraine. We step up and deliver heavier, more advanced weapons and we have constant consultations with Ukraine on different types of weapons, but also on how to ensure that all the systems, all the weapons that are already there work as they should.

Because we need to remember this is not only about providing new systems but also ensuring that the artillery, the armor, the air-defence systems, which have been delivered already, have the spare parts, have the ammunition, have the maintenance, have the fuel they need to function.

Then, of course, NATO also has another task, and that is to prevent this war from escalating beyond Ukraine. We send a very clear message to Moscow that NATO is there to protect every inch of NATO territory. If one Ally is attacked, it will be regarded as an attack on the whole Alliance. So we will continue to support Ukraine for as long as it takes and we will continue to provide a credible defence for all NATO territory," Stoltenberg assured.