Weapons from Iran and North Korea and 200,000 mobilized troops: Stoltenberg provides evidence of Putin's preparations for new offensive

Stoltenberg said this during a visit to South Korea, according to NATO's official website.   

"No one can tell today when the war will end. But what we do know is that this is a war of aggression, this is actually a war of choice by President Putin. He decided to invade another country, a sovereign democratic state in Europe. And President Putin can end the war today. But the challenge is that we don't see any signs that President Putin and rules in Moscow are preparing for peace," Stoltenberg said.

He emphasized that on the contrary that the Russian forces are preparing to continue the war.

"We see that they are preparing for more war, that they are mobilizing more soldiers, more than 200,000, and potentially even more than that. That they are actively acquiring new weapons, more ammunition, ramping up their own production, but also acquiring more weapons from other authoritarian states like Iran and North Korea. And most of all, we have seen no sign that President Putin has changed his overall goal of this invasion that is to control a neighbour, to control Ukraine," Stoltenberg concluded.

• On January 30, Jens Stoltenberg called on South Korea to increase its military support for Ukraine and referred to the experience of other countries that have changed their policy of refusing to supply weapons.